Twin Troubles
by A Thousand Undiscovered Stars
Summary: Gilmore Girls Alternate Universe. Lorelai gave birth to twins - Rory and Winter. Story follows most major themes and plots of the show but contains MAJOR variations. New twist to the perfect show! Please note that Lorelai will be the main focus of this story and most chapters will be from her point of view and will be centered around her! This story is now officially complete!
1. A Junkie, An Angel, and Jack Kerouac

**_Disclaimer: I (sadly) don't own Gilmore Girls. I simply write about them. All characters belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and the CW. [Sigh.] I apologize if I have accidentally created a story similar to one already written that I just haven't read yet; if I trespass on anyone's ideas it is due to my own innocent ignorance (and I definitely have a lot of ignorance). :) I own nothing but the character Victoria Winter Gilmore and all seven seasons on DVD. If I did own Gilmore Girls – there are no words. :)_**

_Summary: This story takes place as if Lorelai had had twins, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore a.k.a Rory and Victoria Winter Gilmore a.k.a Winter, rather than just Rory (Yes I know it's been done before, but I couldn't help myself. It is 5 AM as I'm writing this and the story just popped into my head like 10 minutes ago) and, while following the core themes and plots of the series, deviates from the original story regularly._

_A/N: This is my first fanfic so I hope you enjoy. **Bolded words are personal thoughts** of the character whose POV the story is currently being written in. The person whose POV the chapter will be in will be posted below the chapter title and will be underlined. Read and review please! Both positive and negative reviews are encouraged! Enjoy! :)_

_**Twin Troubles:**_

_**Chapter One: A Junkie, An Angel, and Jack Kerouac**_

_Lorelai_

_Lorelai and Winter walked across the town square, heading to Luke's for breakfast as usual. The bell hanging above the door jingled as they entered the diner and took seats at one of the tables._

_"Oh my God, I'm dying for some coffee. What about you?" Lorelai asked, grabbing a coffee cup off the table and standing._

_"I will definitely be needing some but I want to wait for Rory to get here from Lane's house first. The last time I got my coffee before she got here she stole mine as soon as she came in the door," Winter said, with a slight frown at the memory. "I'll just go wait outside until she gets here, and we can get our coffee then," she stated, standing and walking to the door._

_Lorelai smiled and shook her head at her daughter before turning to face the counter, holding her coffee cup between her hands and walking up to Luke, who was behind the counter reading something off of an order ticket._

_"Please, Luke, please," Lorelai said hopefully._

_"How many cups have you had today?" he asked, looking up at her._

_"None," she said quickly._

_"Plus?" he prompted her, knowing her well enough to know that she had to have had at least two cups by now._

_**Rats. He really does know me too well. **Lorelai reluctantly confessed, "Five. But yours is better." **It really is better. That, and I really need some coffee.**_

_Luke just sighed and told her, just like he did several times a week and sometimes several times a day, even though he knew it wouldn't make a difference, "You have a problem."_

_"Yes, I do," she stated, holding out the coffee cup she'd been clutching._

_"Junkie," he said, pouring her coffee._

_Lorelai smiled, taking the coffee, "Angel. You've got wings baby." She turned and walked back to her table, before sitting and taking a sip of her coffee._

_Rory and Winter walked in unnoticed and stopped, instead of going to sit with their mother, when they say a man who had been sitting at the counter got up and walked over to Lorelai's table. They both smirked, knowing that he was going to hit on their mom. It happened all the time – after all, Lorelai was exceptionally beautiful with her tall curvy figure, wavy raven-dark hair, only slightly tan skin, and sparkling bright blue eyes – and they frequently(often on a daily basis) enjoyed watching men hit on, and consequently strike out, with their mother._

_"You make that look really good," he said in a way that was obviously meant to entice Lorelai, while leaning slightly closer to her._

_Lorelai looked up at him, "Oh, it is, really good. It's the best coffee in town."_

_"Yeah?" he asked, "I'll have to get a cup."_

_"Good plan," Lorelai said, uninterested in him but being polite, and smiled._

_"Yeah, I've never been through here before. I'm just passing through on my way to Hartford," he said, smiling as he took note of her tall, slim figure._

_Rory and Winter were still standing near the door, unnoticed, as they struggled no to burst out laughing at the guy's outrageous flirting._

_**God, this guy really needs to learn how to check someone out without being so obvious. **"You're a regular Jack Kerouac," Lorelai told him, allowing a slight note of exasperation enter her voice, wishing that he would take the hint._

_Unfortunately for Lorelai, he didn't. "Yeah," he said with slight confusion. "You mind if I join you?"_

_"Actually, I'm meeting a couple of people," she replied with a slight look of polite apology on her face, masking the expression of celebration, due to the fact that now he would have to leave, hiding just under the surface._

_However, he refused to give up so easily and sat down next to her. "I'm Joey," he said with another flirtatious smile._

_"Okay," Lorelai said. **God, can't this guy take a hint?**_

_"What, don't you have a name?" he inquired, his eyes wandering slightly downward to rest on her well-developed chest._

_Rory and Winter stood, watching indignantly, as this guy they had never seen before continued to examine Lorelai. "Who does this guy think he is?" Winter asked Rory, anger mixed with amusement, evident in her tone. "He better not push it much farther, or Mom's gonna chew him up, spit him out, and just go right on with her day," Rory commented, a similar tone to her twin sister's in her voice._

_"No, I do have a name. I just am really meeting some people, so…" Lorelai replied, with only the slightest of apologetic tones, annoyance flashing through her as she saw where his eyes rested._

_"So I guess I should be going," Joey completed reluctantly, his eyes flashing back up to hers._

_"So soon?" Lorelai teased mockingly, pouting slightly. **YES. Finally.**_

_"What?" Joey asked, now thoroughly confused._

_Lorelai smiled, unapologetic amusement in her voice, "Just screwing with your mind, Joey. It's nice to meet you. Enjoy Hartford."_

_"Enjoy your coffee, Mystery Woman," Joey said softly, putting as much allure as possible into his voice, in a last-ditch effort at capturing her interest, and getting up and walking back to the counter._

_Rory and Winter, shaking their heads in amusement, finally walked over and sat next to their mom._

_"Another not-so-secret admirer?" Winter asked teasingly as Rory chuckled._

_"Ha ha. Very funny. You two couldn't have come over like 5 minutes ago?" Lorelai replied with mock-annoyance._

_"Nope," the twins replied in unison._

_Lorelai just shook her head at them. "You know it's creepy when you guys do that, right?"_

_They just rolled their eyes at their mother's comment._

_"God, it's freezing outside," Rory commented._

_"Oh, what do you need? Hot tea, coffee, a martini? Although you can't actually have a martini for another 5 years," Lorelai mused._

_"Lip gloss," Rory responded, inwardly laughing at her mom's ability to have such perfect comedic timing. She could honestly say that she had never met anyone smarter, funnier, or more beautiful than Lorelai Victoria Gilmore._

_"I could use a fresh coat, too," Winter added, while unknowingly mentally agreeing with her twin about her assessment of their mother._

_Lorelai nodded, pulling out her makeup bag, and said, "Ah. I have vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and toasted marshmallow."_

_"Vanilla, please," Winter requested, holding out her hand for the tube of lip gloss that her mom dropped into it before looking at Rory for her answer._

_"Anything in there not resembling a breakfast cereal," Rory asked with slight exasperation._

_Lorelai nodded, pulling out another bag, before stating, "It has no smell, but it changes colors with your mood."_

_"God, RuPaul doesn't need this much makeup," Rory informed her mother as she and her sister applied their gloss, before handing the tubes back to Lorelai._

_Lorelai smiled. "Well, you're crabby."_

_"I'm sorry, I lost my Macy Grey CD, and I need caffeine," Rory apologized._

_"Mom has your CD," Winter told her, grinning._

_"Thief," Rory accused her mother._

_"Sorry, and I will get you both," she said, standing and grabbing two coffee cups off the table, "some coffee."_

_"Luke's totally gonna think that the coffee's for her," Winter said, smirking as she and Rory watched their mom walk up to the counter, and Rory nodded in agreement, smiling._

_"What? It's for Rory and Winter, I swear," Lorelai said innocently, when Luke gave her a look as he saw the coffee cups in her hands._

_"You're shameless," he replied, still giving her that same look._

_Winter and Rory looked up in surprise as Joey walked over to their table and stood across from Winter._

_"Look, Officer Krupke. They're right over there," she said, turning and seeing Joey standing by her table, as Luke filled the cups. "He's got quite a pair, this guy," Lorelai said, turning back around to grab the coffee cups. "Thanks," she said, walking back over to the table to stand next to Joey._

_"Yeah, I've never been through here before," Joey was saying as Lorelai walked up._

_"Oh, you have too," she scoffed, setting down the cups of coffee and standing next to Winter, putting her hand on her shoulder._

_"Oh, hi," Joey said, shocked._

_"Oh, hi. You really like my table, don't you?" Lorelai asked, mocking him._

_Joey looked slightly panicked as he replied, "I was just…"_

_"Getting to know my daughters," Lorelai finished, still teasing him._

_"Your…" Joey responded._

_"Are you our new Daddy?" Rory asked, smiling and trying not to laugh._

_"Are you and Mommy gonna have a baby? I always wanted a little brother or sister," Winter added, smirking at him, although Joey didn't seem to register this comment._

_"Wow. You do not look old enough to have a daughter. No, I mean it," he said to Lorelai. "And, you do not look like daughters," he added, looking at them._

_Lorelai smiled teasingly, "That's, possibly, very sweet of you, Joey. Thanks."_

_"So… daughters," he said, and Lorelai just tilted her head and nodded. "You know, I am traveling with a couple friends," Joey tried, looking back at the girls._

_"They're sixteen," Lorelai informed him._

_"Bye," Joey nodded._

_"Drive safe," Lorelai smiled._

_Rory and Winter burst out laughing as Joey and his two friends walked out of the diner._

_"And to think, he could have been your soul mate," Winter teased her mother, earning herself a glare, as Rory added, "Yeah, Mom, you guys could have had such gorgeous kids."_

_Lorelai glared at them both. "School, now, you're going to be late," she informed the two of them in a firm voice, shaking her head with a mixture of amusement and annoyance at their smart-ass comments, before they all finished up their coffee and walked out the door._

**_To Be Continued._**

**_A/N: So? Awful, Wonderful, Somewhere In- Between? Let me know what you think, good or bad. Next chapter should be up within the next few days. Thanks for reading! :)_**


	2. Into Chilton, Into Hell

_Disclaimer: I, sadly, still don't own Gilmore Girls, and if I ever did I very well might die._

_A/N: This chapter will start out from Winter's POV but will change to Lorelai's somewhere in the middle! :) Thanks for the reviews guys! If you have any requests for the story leave them me a review with your suggestion(s) and I will try to fit them in._

_**Chapter Two: Into Chilton, Into Hell**_

_Winter_

_Winter, Rory, and Lane Kim were walking across the town square to Stars Hollow High, Winter and Rory having just come from having breakfast with their mom. The three of them all walked side by side, just like they had since their first day of kindergarten when they had all met. They were best friends, even if Lane's mom was like a modern, Korean version of Joseph Stalin._

_"Lane, when are you gonna let your parents know you listen to the evil rock music?" Rory asked, watching Lane pull off the Mrs. Kim-approved shirt that she had on to reveal a much more modernized, Lane-preferred shirt instead._

_"Yeah, you're an American teenager for God's sake," Winter added in exasperation._

_"Guys, if my parents still get upset over the obscene portion size of American food, I seriously doubt I'm gonna be making any inroads with Eminem," Lane stated, and when the twins thought of Mrs. Kim they had to agree._

_After that, the twins launched into a full recount of the Lorelai-Joey-Winter situation that took place in the diner that morning._

_"He seriously tried to hit on Winter after he struck out with your mom?" Lane asked disbelievingly after hearing the twins' story about Joey._

_"Yep. But at least he wasn't as bad as he was with Mom," Rory said in return, smirking at her sister._

_Winter glared at her, before thinking back over the entire scene they'd witnessed between their mom and Joey. "Yeah, he was such a creep with Mom. I mean, seriously, he might as well just have tried to take her shirt off right there as obvious as he was being when he was looking at her," she said in disgust, remembering the way that Joey's eyes had seemed glued to Lorelai's chest._

_Rory and Lane nodded in agreement and they all continued walking until they reached the bulletin board that stood outside the school. It contained multiple different flyers, including one for the annual Star's Hollow Teen Hayride._

_"I have to go to that," Lane said, pointing to the flyer for the hayride._

_"The hayride? You're kidding," Rory said with disbelief, as Winter bit back a laugh._

_"Yeah. My parents set me up with the son of a business associate. He's gonna be a doctor," Lane said as if reciting these facts from memory._

_"How old is he?" Winter asked, having successfully kept herself from laughing._

_"Sixteen," Lane answered._

_"So he's gonna be a doctor in a hundred years," Winter stated. **I'm glad I dressed in warm clothes today. It's freezing out here**, Winter thought, glad that she had dressed in simple blue jeans, a blue camouflage long-sleeved shirt, her black blazer, and high-heeled leather boots which were surprisingly warm._

_"My parents like to plan ahead," Lane shrugged disappointedly. This was just another of many almost-identical instances._

_"God, you have to go to the hayride with him?" Rory asked. None of the Gilmore Girls would be caught dead taking part in the hayride. They loved the town and participated in a lot of the town events throughout the year, but they drew the line at the hayride._

_"And his older brother. We need a chaperone, because obviously we're going to do all sorts of sinful, depraved things as soon as we're alone together on the hayride with Taylor and everyone else that got conned into going," Lane said, annoyed and dreading the whole thing._

_"Oh, now you're kidding," Winter said, disbelief saturating her tone. **God. Poor Lane. Mom would never ****ever**** make me or Rory do something even remotely as awful as this.**_

_"Koreans never kid about future doctors. So, I guess you guys aren't going," Lane said with false hope, thinking how lucky the two of them were that they had Lorelai for their mom._

_"No way in hell," Winter said emphatically. "Nope," Rory added in agreement._

_The three of them continued walking up the stairs that led into the school and Rory added, "I'm still fuzzy on what's fun about sitting in the cold for two hours with a bundle of sticks up your butt."_

_"Don't expect me to clear it up for you," Lane responded as they walked into the school, none of them noticing the tall, dark-haired guy that was leaning against the school building, who turned his head as they passed, his eyes locked on Rory._

* * *

_Lorelai_

_Lorelai, walking up to the front desk of the Independence Inn that she ran as the General Manager, was just in time to overhear Michel, the French and sometimes, almost all the time, surly and rude, concierge having what he would describe as yet another inane conversation with someone who was one of "those insufferable people", otherwise known as the guests._

_"Independence Inn. Michel speaking," Michel said, while looking down at the reservation book that lay open on the front desk._

_"No, I'm sorry. We're completely booked," he said as Lorelai walked behind him and began going through some of the papers that needed tending to on the desk._

_**Ahh. People trying to get into the Inn. Michel is not going to be happy when he gets through with this conversation. **Lorelai continued going through the papers and listening to Michel deal with the phone call._

_"We have a wedding party here," he went on, ignoring Lorelai's presence._

_**But even though they know that… **Lorelai waited for the inevitable._

_"No, there is really nothing I can do. – Yes, I'm sure. Positive. – No, I don't have to look, ma'am," Michel protested, sounding bored._

_**And yet…**_

_"Yes, of course I'll look," he conceded, placing the phone face-down on the desk for a minute and shifting through some papers before picking the phone back up._

_**That's what I thought. **Lorelai nodded her head, while continuing to sort through the mail, already knowing what Michel would say._

_"No, I'm sorry. We're completely booked," he said, obviously disinterested in continuing this conversation._

_"No, don't move," the voice intruded on Lorelai's thoughts. She turned to see Drella, the short (and somewhat short-tempered) harpist who played in the lobby of the Independence Inn, pushing her harp through a group of people who had the misfortune of being in her way._

_"Just ignore the tiny woman pushing the 200-pound instrument around. No, this is good. I like this. Maybe after this I'll bench-press a piano," she continued as Lorelai hurried around the desk, trying to contain the situation before it got any worse._

_**No, no, no, no, no. **Lorelai almost cringed at the next exchange as Drella was forced to stop when a woman bent down to tie her shoe, "That's it lady. Tie your shoe now." **Ouch. I really need this to stop before one of the guests complains AGAIN.**_

_"Hi, Drella. Hi," Lorelai said, approaching her cautiously. "I was just wondering, could you be nicer to the guests?" Lorelai asked, trying to be polite in the hopes of calming the woman down._

_Drella assumed a mock-confused look and said, "I'm sorry. Did you not want a harp player?"_

_**Oh, boy. This isn't going to end well. **Lorelai nodded her head, reminding herself that Drella wasvery talented with her harp, "Yes, I did."_

_"Did you not want a great harp player," Drella asked, with a clarifying tone of voice._

_Lorelai exhaled sharply, "Yes, I did."_

_Drella smiled, "Okay. I am a great harp player. And this, is my great harp, okay? So if you're looking for someone to just be nice to the guests get a harmonica player. Maybe some guy who whistles through his nose."_

_"Okay? Capisce?" Drella asked, as Lorelai held up her hands in surrender and started to walk past her._

_**Harpist 1: Lorelai 0. Well, at least I asked. **Lorelai shrugged off the encounter and walked back to the front desk, where Michel was still in conversation with the same person on the phone, who apparently couldn't take a hint and understand that the Inn was full._

_"Madame, you have no idea how desperately I'd like to help, but see I'd have to build a room for you myself and I'm not a man who works with his hands," Michel said, sounding exasperated and practically pleading at this point, while Lorelai smiled, amused at his frustration. "So the best I can do is suggest that you please, please try for another weekend, any weekend," he continued._

_**Man, these people are really making Michel work today.**_

_"Ah. Good. Fine. The 21st. Hold on, I'll look," Michel said before flipping through the reservation book to check the 21st. "No, I'm sorry. We're completely booked," Michel informed them before looking with slight annoyance at the phone as they hung up on him._

_**Poor Michel. **Secretly, though, she couldn't help but be slightly amused by the whole thing._

_Later on, Lorelai came into the kitchen, excitedly exclaiming, "Sookie!" This caused Sookie to turn and accidentally hit one of the other chefs in the head with the skillet she held in her hand. They both quickly glanced at the man, but moved past it quickly. Sookie was an amazing chef, was very lovable, and was Lorelai's best friend after her two daughters, but she was extremely accident-prone._

_"It's here. It happened. They did it," Lorelai exclaimed, smiling widely._

_"Okay, I'm gonna need a little bit longer sentence," Sookie said, shaking her head, but looking happy about whatever it was that had made Lorelai happy._

_"The Chilton School. Rory and Winter got in," Lorelai emphasized, her eyes shining._

_"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Sookie said, clapping her hands and looking just as happy as Lorelai. She knew how much it meant to all three of the Gilmores that the girls get into Chilton._

_"I know. Look," Lorelai said grinning and holding up Rory and Winter's acceptance letter and reading, " 'Dear Ms. Gilmore, We are happy to inform you that we have two vacancies at Chilton Preparatory starting immediately. Due to your daughters' excellent credentials and your enthusiastic pursuit of their enrollment' – I offered to do the principal to get them in – 'we'd be happy to accept her as soon as the first semester's tuition has been received.'"_

_"This is very exciting," Sookie exclaimed happily, and she and Lorelai hugged excitedly._

_"Is something burning?" Lorelai asked, slightly confused, as she hugged Sookie._

_"My bangs. Earlier. Go on, go on," Sookie urged._

_"This is it. They can finally go to Harvard like they've always wanted and get the education that I never got, and do all the things I never got to do. And then I can resent them for it and we can finally have a normal mother-daughters relationship," Lorelai said excitedly, laughing._

_"Mom," Rory called before entering the kitchen alone. Winter was in the lobby saying "hi" to Michel just to annoy him, and an annoyed Michel was always fun._

_Rory looked at her mom, curious about the look on her mother's face. "You're happy," she stated cautiously._

_"Yeah," Lorelai said, smiling at her daughter._

_"Did you do something slutty?" Rory asked, deciding from the look that her mom had that there was a very good possibility that she was right._

_"I'm not that happy," Lorelai said, grinning and giggling._

_"Hey. What's going on? Mom? Did you do something slutty?" Winter asked walking in and taking in the room, noticing the look on Lorelai's face and assuming the same thing that Rory had._

_**Why does everyone automatically assume that? Of course, they're right sometimes, but still…**_

_"Nope, I already asked her," Rory said as Winter came to stand next to her and their mom's smile dropped for a moment at their comments, but she couldn't help it and quickly resumed grinning._

_"Here," Lorelai said, handing them the big brown paper bag she had been holding._

_"What's going on?" Winter asked suspiciously._

_"Open it," was her mother's reply._

_"We're gonna be in a Britney Spears video?" Rory asked hopefully. Winter just stared at the blue plaid skirts that the bag contained, confused and unable to figure out why her mother would give those to her and Rory._

_"You're going to Chilton! Sorry," Sookie blurted out excitedly and subsequently apologized as Lorelai turned to her with a frown and lightly smacked her on the arm._

_"Mom?" Winter asked, starting to get excited, both she and Rory wearing identical expressions of joy._

_"You did it, babes. You got in," Lorelai confirmed with a proud smile on her face._

_"How did this happen?" Rory asked, sounding slightly dazed._

_"You didn't – with the principal, did you?" Winter added, with just the slightest hint of worry in her voice._

_"No, honey. That was a joke," Lorelai said with an amused expression on her face. "They have a couple of open spots. You're gonna start on Monday."_

_"Really?" both Rory and Winter spoke at the same time._

_"Really," their mother confirmed, smiling at them._

_"I don't believe this!" Rory exclaimed at the same time that Winter said, as if she couldn't believe it, "Oh, my God, we're going to Chilton?" As they spoke they hugged each other, before turning and both rushing to cling to Lorelai together._

_"We have to call Lane," Winter said once they had all hugged. She and Rory started to leave the kitchen to go get the phone, but before they did they stopped suddenly and ran back to hug their mom one more time._

_"I love you," Rory and Winter said in succession as they held onto Lorelai._

_"I love you," she responded softly before releasing them._

_Lorelai turned to Sookie after the girls had left and said, "My girls are going to Chilton." Then she walked out of the kitchen, a proud smile on her face._

* * *

_"What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?" Lorelai asked, pacing back and forth on the front porch. She had gotten the invoice for Rory and Winter's enrollment fee at Chilton, and there was no way that she could swing that kind of money. Now, she had to figure out how to pay the entire fee before Monday or the girls would lose their spots._

_"You can have anything I own. My car. Sell my car," Sookie offered from where she was sitting on the outdoor couch, drinking a glass of wine._

_"Oh, sweetie, no one wants your car," Lorelai said, appreciating the offer but knowing that she spoke the truth._

_"There's something I haven't thought of. I know there is," Lorelai said. "There's something out there staring me right in the face. I just, I haven't seen it."_

_"You know, you might consider calling," Sookie began._

_"No," Lorelai cut her off._

_"But I don't think you have," Sookie tried again._

_"Stop," Lorelai stopped her once more, knowing what she was suggesting._

_"You can at least go and," Sookie tried one last time but stopped when Lorelai made a noise in her throat._

_"Okay, can I say one more thing? I think it's your only option," Sookie said, glad to have been able to finish two whole sentences._

_"Sookie, there are several chapters from a Stephen King novel I'd reenact before I'd resort to that option," Lorelai corrected her with a smile._

_"Okay, dropped, dropped," Sookie surrendered._

_"Thank you," Lorelai said._

_"Mom, so what do you think?" Rory asked as she and Winter came out wearing their Chilton skirts._

_"Wow, it makes you look smart," Sookie exclaimed, causing the girls to look at like she was crazy._

_"Okay, no more wine for you. Mom?" Winter asked, turning to her mother for her opinion._

_"You guys look like you were swallowed by kilts," Lorelai teased lightly._

_"Fine, you could hem it," Rory said, causing Lorelai to clap her hands excitedly. "A little only a little," she added._

_"Okay. Or I could hem it a lot," Lorelai said happily, putting her hands on her daughters' shoulders._

_"You can definitely hem mine a lot," Winter agreed with her mother._

_When they went in the house they all began teasing Rory about how she had dressed for gym that day and played volleyball with the rest of the students, while Lorelai began setting her daughters' skirts so that they could see how short they would be. Then they all agreed that both Rory and Winter had gotten their lack of coordination from their mother, causing them to laugh._

_"Where's your pâté?" Sookie asked, coming into the living room from the kitchen._

_"At Zsa Zsa Gabor's house," Lorelai responded, while finishing setting the girls skirts._

_"Right. I'm going to the store because you have nothing. You feel like duck?" Sookie asked grabbing her bag._

_"Ooh, if it's made with chicken, absolutely," Lorelai responded._

_"I'll be back," Sookie said, walking out the door while the girls all yelled bye._

_"All right, this will give you an idea. Go see how you like them," Lorelai said when she was finished._

_"Okay," Winter said and as she Rory walked off Rory stopped, turning to add, "I love being a private school girl," before walking off._

_Lorelai's smile began to fade as they disappeared from sight._

_**What am I gonna do?**_

_Lorelai turned to look at the pictures on the mantle. First were the pictures of her, Rory, and Winter. She looked over these for a moment before her eyes came to rest on one of her as a child – standing in front of her parents' house. Her parents – the wealthy, snobbish Richard and Emily Gilmore of the Hartford society set. The same people from whom she had run with the twins when they weren't even a year old, and promised herself that she would never ask them for anything. And she hadn't. Yet. Lorelai knew what Sookie had tried to suggest earlier. She tried to suggest that Lorelai ask her parents for the money. And now, faced with the ultimatum: ask her parents for the money, or tell Rory and Winter that they couldn't go to Chilton after all, she knew which option she had to choose._

_Lorelai continued looking at the picture of her parents' house and sighed. That house was a living hell during the sixteen years that she lived there. She had sworn never to go back into it, and now she had no choice._

_Lorelai sighed, "Into Chilton, into hell."_

_**To Be Continued.**_

_**A/N: Well, guys? What did you think? As always, please review and, as stated above, if you have a request or suggestion(s) for the story just include them in your review and I will see if I can incorporate them. Thanks for reading! :)**_


	3. Coercion and Fights

_Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls; I just write about them and try to do them justice._

_A/N: I know that so far I've been following the basic script of the show, but now I'm really going to start making some major changes to the script and storyline. Anyways, I hope you like it! :) Oh, as always, I am open to any and all suggestions and requests. Just leave me a review and I will try to incorporate them. :)_

_**Chapter Three: Coercion and Fights**_

_Lorelai_

_Lorelai sighed wearily, looking up at the oh-so-perfect "home" that she had run away from when she was sixteen._

_**Ha! Home? More like prison, complete with wardens Emily and Richard Gilmore, in all their obscenely rich, contemptuous, snobbish glory.**_

_Lorelai shook her head at these thoughts, before walking up to the door resolutely, knowing somehow that she was going to regret this sooner or later. Probably sooner. More than somewhat anxious, she rang the doorbell and waited, wondering if it was too late to escape. 'Yep, definitely too late' Lorelai said to herself as the door opened._

_"Lorelai!" Emily Gilmore exclaimed, as she opened the door to reveal her only daughter standing there._

_"Hi, Mom. Can I come in?" Lorelai asked reluctantly. **I never thought that I would actually ask to go inside this house.**_

_"What is it Christmas already?" Emily asked wryly, stepping back to allow her daughter to come in._

_Lorelai ignored the comment, or at least she tried to. "I was in Hartford, taking a business class and I thought I would drop by to see you, Mom."_

_"Well, how nice," Emily said, not sounding like she thought it was nice at all, and giving a slightly sarcastic smile._

_They walked into the living room, both silent and uncomfortable with being alone with the other._

_"You said you were taking a business class?" Emily asked, slightly confused by this information._

_"Yeah, I take a class twice a week at Hartford State. I'm sure I told you," Lorelai said, knowing that she had told her mother no such thing. She never told her mother anything about her personal life. That would mean having to have an actual conversation with her mother, something that she and Emily seemed incapable of._

_"Really? Are you sure? I don't remember you telling me," Emily stated, knowing that Lorelai was lying about having told her. Lorelai never told her anything unless it was absolutely necessary._

_Lorelai exhaled deeply, trying to stay calm, "Yes, Mother. I'm sure."_

_Emily became angry at Lorelai's blatant lie. "Lorelai, do not lie to me. Both you and I are perfectly aware that you told me no such thing. Now, do not try to pretend that you did," Emily told her daughter in her patented Lorelai-I-know-what-you-did-now-don't-you-even-think-of-trying-to-deny-it tone._

_Lorelai was saved from Emily's upcoming wrath – even hearing her mother's tone, and perhaps because of it, she fully intended to deny it – as they both heard Lorelai's father, Richard, call out, "Emily?"_

_"We're in here, Richard," Emily replied._

_Richard walked into the room, looking at the book in his hands, and looked up, surprised to see Lorelai sitting there. "Lorelai. What is it Easter already?" he asked in much the same tone that Emily had taken when she first saw Lorelai, surprised and somewhat wry._

_Lorelai just sighed, "Hi, Dad. Would you mind sitting down for a minute. I wanted to discuss something with you and Mom."_

_"You need money," Richard assumed immediately, walking over to the drink cart to fix himself a scotch._

_"I have a situation," Lorelai said. "Dad, would you please sit down and just listen, please?" Lorelai pleaded, as her father continued to stand by the drink cart._

_"Very well, Lorelai. What is it that you need to discuss with us," Richard relented, going to sit next to his wife._

_**Finally. Okay. I can do this.**_

_"Mom, Dad, Rory and Winter have been accepted to Chilton," Lorelai began carefully._

_"Chilton! Why that's a wonderful school! It's only five minutes from here!" Emily interrupted excitedly._

_Lorelai agreed, "Yeah. They can start as early as Monday. There's just a little problem with the tuition."_

_"So…you need money," Richard concluded, smiling faintly. He and Lorelai may have had their problems, but he was not about to take it out on his granddaughters._

_"Yeah," Lorelai admitted softly, swallowing her pride._

_"I'll get my checkbook," Richard said, standing._

_"Wait just a minute, Richard," Emily said, watching Lorelai with a calculating look in her eyes._

_**Damn it. So close…**_

_"Lorelai, why should we just do this for you? You have never shown any desire to be around us, never made any more than the absolute minimal effort to include us in those girls' lives. Why should we give you this money?" Emily asked, an idea having entered her mind, trying to manipulate Lorelai into agreeing to her newly conceived plan. She didn't want to say no, but she would if Lorelai wouldn't agree to her demands._

_"It's not for me, it's for the girls, and I fully intend to pay you back, every cent," Lorelai emphasized, pleading just a bit._

_**Oh, my God. She wouldn't actually say no would she? No, of course she wouldn't. No matter how she feels about me, she loves Rory and Winter. No… She wants something.**_

_"Very well. We will give you the money… If…" Emily trailed off._

_"If what, Mother?" Lorelai asked, dreading what Emily would demand._

_"If we give you this money, you, Rory, and Winter have to come to dinner tonight and every Friday night until you pay back the money," Emily said with a small, triumphant smile. She and her daughter may not get along, and she was still beyond upset with her for leaving the way that she did when she was sixteen, but she did still miss her daughter and want her around._

_**This is coercion! No damn way!**_

_"No," Lorelai responded immediately, reflexively. "No, absolutely not. Anything but that."_

_"Well, then. I'm afraid we can't help you. I trust you can see yourself out. Come along, Richard," Emily replied, slightly stunned and a little hurt by Lorelai's decision, and walked out of the room, leaving Richard and Lorelai to stare after her in shock before Richard reluctantly got up and followed his wife from the room._

_Lorelai just stood, left the house, got back into her car, and drove away, in silent shock the entire time._

_**I can't believe it. She said "no". I never thought that even she would… Now what am I going to do? I have to pay Chilton by Monday or they'll give up the girls' spots!**_

_Lorelai was so panicked that she didn't even realize that she was home until she reached out to open the door, and found that it was locked. She had completely forgotten that she had locked it before she left this morning. Numbly, she reached out and unlocked it before stepping inside. She made her way through the house in a daze and found herself looking into Rory's small room. She saw the Chilton brochure open on her bed, and somehow that was what brought her out of her shock. She knew how much going to Chilton meant to Rory, and although Winter hated school, much like Lorelai herself, she knew that it meant just as much to her because of how much it meant to her twin sister._

_Lorelai sighed, walking over to pick up the phone. She knew what she had to do, but that didn't make it any easier. She slowly punched in the number and waited for her mother or father to pick up the phone._

_"Hello," Emily's voice greeted from the other end of the line._

_Lorelai sighed in frustration and decided just to get it over done. "Fine, Mom. You win. We will come to dinner. Are happy now?"_

_Emily smiled happily and, ignoring her daughter's sarcastic question, said, "Dinner is at seven. I'll drop the check off at Chilton this afternoon. Does that sound all right with you?"_

_Lorelai looked quickly up at the ceiling, wishing that there were any other option but this, before replying with forced compliance, "Seven's fine. We'll be there." Then a thought occurred to her, "Mom, I don't want them to know that I borrowed money from you. Can that just be between us?"_

_Emily shook her head, slightly amused at her daughter's stubborn pride but not surprised by it, and said, "We'll see you at seven. Don't be late. Goodbye, Lorelai."_

_"Goodbye, Mom," Lorelai said reluctantly, but still slightly relieved. Even though she hadn't said so, Lorelai knew that her mother would keep her secret so long as Lorelai and the girls continued to show up for Friday Night Dinner. Moreover, Lorelai had a feeling that they would be showing up for quite a while._

* * *

_Rory_

_Rory, Winter, and Lorelai sat having coffee and cheese fries, Rory and Lorelai being unusually quiet and Winter looking between the two of them, slightly confused as to what was going on, but having decided to stay quiet until her mother and sister calmed down._

_Lorelai sighed and said, "So, I forgot to tell you that we're having dinner with the grandparents tonight."_

_Rory looked up, shocked. They never had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa, except on major holidays or VERY special occasions. Now, all of a sudden they were just having dinner with them out of the blue? No way._

_"But it's September. What holiday is in September?" Rory asked confusedly, while Winter just looked at her mother with that same confusion that Rory was feeling._

_"Look, it's not a holiday thing, okay? It's just dinner," Lorelai said quickly, sounding uncharacteristically irritated._

_"Okay, fine," Rory said, surprised at her mother's outburst, and they lapsed back into silence, each thinking about three completely different things._

_Rory's mind kept running over the encounter she'd had with the new kid, Dean, today. He was tall, handsome, and he somehow managed to make her feel like a complete idiot. When they had spoken, she had been nervous and had babbled on about different things. When he told her that he had to go look for a job, she offered to take him to Miss Patty, since she knew everything that went on in the town and would be able to help him find one. As they were walking, he asked her how she was enjoying Moby Dick and admitted that he had noticed her multiple times since he had arrived in Stars Hollow. And for some reason, this made her unbelievably happy and nervous at the same time. Since then, she had been thinking about him noticing her at school, and it occurred to her that, if she changed schools, he wouldn't be able to notice her anymore. And that made her unhappy. Unhappy enough that she was thinking about changing her mind about going to Chilton._

_"Hey, so I finished hemming your skirts today," Lorelai told her daughters quietly, looking up again, interrupting Rory's thoughts of Dean and Chilton._

_"A grunt of acknowledgement might be nice," Lorelai said when neither of them responded in any way._

_"I don't understand why we're going to dinner tonight," Rory said, looking up at her mother. "What if Winter or I had plans? You didn't even ask us," Rory said, and Winter looked at her in a way that told Rory to leave her out of this._

_"If you had plans, I would have known," Lorelai responded, slightly surprised._

_"How?" Rory challenged her._

_"You would have told me," Lorelai said._

_"I don't tell you everything. I have my own things," Rory told her._

_"Fine, you have things," Lorelai surrendered, still confused._

_"That's right, I have things," Rory concluded, annoyed._

_"Hey… I had dibs on being the bitch tonight," Lorelai said jokingly, obviously trying to make peace._

_"Just tonight?" Rory asked sullenly._

_"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lorelai questioned, becoming irritated._

_"I'm not sure I want to go to Chilton," Rory confessed, much to Lorelai and Winter's shock._

_"What? Why?" Lorelai questioned, now thoroughly confused and irritated._

_"The timing is just really bad," Rory said defensively, thinking of Dean._

_"The timing is bad?" Lorelai asked, looking at Rory as if she were insane, and Winter watched her with a similar look on her face before turning to look at Lorelai, knowing that this wouldn't end well, whatever this was._

_"And the bus ride, to and from Hartford, is like thirty minutes each way. I don't think we should be spending that money right now. I know how much Chilton's gotta be costing you," Rory continued._

_"Oh, you have no idea," Lorelai muttered softly, causing Winter to look at her in curiosity._

_"All of your money should be going toward buying an inn with Sookie," Rory concluded, referring to Lorelai and Sookie's dream of opening their own inn together one day._

_"I don't believe what I'm hearing. What about college? What about Harvard?" Lorelai asked in disbelief._

_"We don't know I can't get into Harvard if I stay where I am," Rory said belligerently._

_"Okay, enough. Enough of the crazy talk, okay? I appreciate your concern, but I have this covered," Lorelai said, irritation and confusion evident in her voice._

_"I still don't want to go!" Rory burst out, shocking Winter, who had been silently listening to the absurd argument between her mother and her twin._

_"Why?" Lorelai asked, obviously just as shocked by this new information as Winter._

_"Because I don't!" Rory said quickly._

_"I have to get out of here," Lorelai said in a shocked, distracted tone, standing and walking to the door._

_Winter, having stood and followed her mother, quietly reminded her, "Mom, we have to pay first."_

_Lorelai sighed, went back and tossed an appropriate amount of money on the table, and walked out, leaving Rory and Winter to follow her._

_They all walked silently through the square, each wrapped up in their own thoughts, until they went to pass Miss Patty's dance hall doorway. It all went downhill from there as Patty informed Rory that she had found a job at Doose's for her male friend and that she should send around the next day, and Lorelai tried to figure out what male friend Patty was talking about, until the answer occurred to her._

_"You're gonna have to walk faster than that. You're gonna have to turn into friggin' Flo Jo to get away from me!" Lorelai called after Rory as she began to walk away, heading in the direction of the house, and began following her, with a shocked Winter trailing after them both._

_"This is about a boy. Of course! I can't believe I didn't see it. All this talk about money and bus rides. You got a thing going with a guy, and you don't wanna leave school. God, I'm so dense. That should have been my first thought. After all, you're me," Lorelai ranted after she and Winter followed Rory into the house._

_"I am not you," Rory said resentfully, walking towards her room, trying to get away from Lorelai and Winter, although the latter hadn't actually done anything to annoy her. She just wanted to be alone._

_"Really? Someone willing to throw important life experiences out the window to be with a guy. It sounds like me to me," Lorelai stated, watching her daughter roll her eyes and out of the corner of her eye seeing Winter wince at her words._

_"Whatever," Rory muttered, walking to her bedroom._

_"Who is he?" Lorelai questioned, knowing that she was right._

_"There's no guy!" Rory denied._

_"Dark hair, romantic eyes, looks a little dangerous?" Lorelai asked, and Rory nearly fainted as her mother's uncannily accurate description conjured an image of Dean._

_"This conversation's over," Rory said, walking into her room and slamming the door._

_"Tattoos are good, too!" Lorelai shouted._

_"I don't wanna quit school because of the reasons I've already told you a thousand times. If you don't want to believe me, that's fine. Goodnight," Rory yelled back._

_"Does he have a motorcycle? 'Cause if you're gonna throw your life away, he better have a motorcycle!" Lorelai yelled at her sarcastically._

_Rory lhad locked the door when she went in her room and now could hear and see the doorknob trying to turn as her mother attempted to come into her room. "Rory! Please open the door!" she heard. "No! Go away!" she yelled back, still angry. She heard a sigh before Lorelai said, "We have to leave in two hours. Please be ready to go," and then she walked off._

_Rory started to cry, while lying on her bed. She didn't want to make her mom mad or disappoint her. They'd never had a fight like this before, but she just liked Dean so much. Then, Rory heard a knock on the door and turned over. "It's me," Rory heard and went to open the door, revealing Winter standing there. Rory went back to the bed and Winter followed, sitting down next to her, and the two just hugged for a minute._

_"So? Tell me what's going on," Winter said softly, pulling back._

_Rory sighed and began telling her sister all about Dean and when she was done she just sat there, watching her to see how she would react._

_Winter shook her head, "Wow. And I always thought that I was the one who was just like Mom."_

_**To Be Continued.**_

**_A/N: So? How was it? Let me know what you think. You know what to do. :) Next chapter should be up tomorrow_! :)**


	4. Unacknowledged Sacrifice

_Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Gilmore Girls, unfortunately. :(_

_**Zoe: Thanks for the suggestion. I had actually been thinking of that myself. Occasionally I will have to include some of the actual script because it contains information important to the show, but most will be original dialogue from here on out. Also, Luke will play a more major role in this story than he did in Season 1 of the show, when they made him seem almost like a minor character than one of the most important characters on the show.**_

_A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys! I will try to keep it up. If there's anything you want me to add to the story just let me know! Well, here goes! :D Oh, I know that this chapter is mostly from Winter's POV but I felt that it would benefit the story more. Don't worry, the next chapter will contain more Lorelai and will begin to bring Luke more into focus. :)_

_**Chapter Four: Unacknowledged Sacrifice**_

_Lorelai_

_**I can't believe this is happening,** Lorelai thought as she was getting ready for the first of the now-mandatory Friday Night Dinners. **I can't believe that she's really considering not going to Chilton. What about her dreams, what about Harvard? What about her sister? Winter would never admit it – she's too much like me to be ****able**** to admit it – but she really wants to go to Chilton, too, but we all know that she would never go without Rory. And now Rory won't go. No,** Lorelai shook her head quickly as these thoughts ran through her mind.** She ****will**** go. I've never made either of them do anything that they didn't want to do, but I know that Rory's gonna regret this if she doesn't go, so that's it. She ****will**** go. I'll ****make**** her go… no matter how much I hate it.**_

_Lorelai looked at herself in the mirror as she finished getting ready. She was unhappy with her new resolution but determined to stand by it. Besides, her mother had already dropped off the check at Chilton and Lorelai had already agreed to honor the agreement that Emily had forced upon her. **Oh, well. Nothing to be done about it now,** Lorelai thought, going downstairs._

_"Girls, let's go!" Lorelai called out while grabbing her coat and purse._

_Rory and Winter both walked to the door silently, already wearing their coats and ready to go._

_"Okay, let's go," Lorelai said, seeing them and walking out to the car._

_The ride from Star's Hollow into Hartford had been silent and uncomfortable, and that same uncomfortable silence hung over the girls as they stood in front of the Gilmore's very large, very imposing house._

_"Well, are you gonna ring the bell, or are we gonna stand here all night reenacting The Little Matchgirl?" Rory asked her mother coldly._

_"All right, that's enough! I know we're having an issue, you and me, but you are going to Chilton whether you like it or not! And now, we're going to go in there and, no matter how much you may hate me right now, you will be polite to your grandparents. Even if they are conniving blackmailers. Do you understand me?" Lorelai asked her authoritatively, almost wavering._

_**I hate being so strict with her, but I can't stand the thought of her giving up her dreams. **Lorelai sighed and wondered, **when did she become so much like me?**_

_"What are you talking about? I know you don't like Grandma and Grandpa, but since when are they blackmailers?" Rory demanded, instantly confused and still more than a little irritated with her mother._

_**Whoops. Damn it.**_

_"It's nothing. Let's just go inside," Lorelai said quickly, realizing that she had let too much slip, and stepped forward to ring the bell._

_Rory just rolled her eyes, still angry with her mother, but Winter could tell that something was wrong. Her mother never yelled at Rory or her, and something MAJOR had to be bothering her for her to be yelling at Rory now, even about this. Unfortunately, before Winter could question her mother as to what was wrong, the door opened, revealing Emily standing there._

_"Girls, come in, come in!" she exclaimed stepping back, and completely ignoring Lorelai's presence there._

_Lorelai rolled her eyes. **Well, here goes nothing. Or maybe "here goes everything" would be more accurate, **Lorelai thought before stepping into the house._

* * *

_Winter_

_"So, girls, are you excited to be starting at Chilton on Monday?" Emily questioned, wrapping an arm around each of the girls and leading them into the living room._

_Noticing Rory's silence, Winter quickly jumped in, "Yeah, we are. It's a great school," she got out quickly before turning to her grandfather and adding, "Hi, Grandpa."_

_Her grandfather looked up from the newspaper he'd been reading to greet her. "Well, hello Winter, Rory. Lorelai," he added, noticing his daughter standing a few feet behind the girls._

_"Hi, Dad," Lorelai said, and Winter could hear the reluctance in her voice._

_**I wonder what that's about. And why are we even here in the first place? I mean, I know that me and Rory going to Chilton is a big deal, but still…**_

_Winter watched curiously as her mother rolled her eyes and went to sit on one of several couches that were in the large room._

_**I know Mom doesn't like Grandma and Grandpa, but she's acting even more unhappy than she usually does when we're here. And what did she mean earlier when she called them "conniving blackmailers"?**_

_Winter's thoughts were interrupted by her grandfather's voice, "Girls would you each like a soda?" he asked, and when the girls nodded he walked over to the drink cart, adding, "Lorelai, would you like a martini?"_

_"Yes, please. Olives and a twist please," Lorelai requested._

_Ignoring whatever her grandmother was saying to her and Rory, Winter went and sat next to Lorelai. "Mom, what's going on?" she asked quietly, curious about the reason behind her mother's mood._

_Lorelai sighed and said, "It's nothing, babe. Don't worry about it," before standing quickly to take her and Winter's drinks from Richard and sitting back down to hand Winter her soda._

_"Mom…" Winter began, unsatisfied with her mother's answer as to what was wrong._

_Lorelai quickly cut her off, though. "Winter, please, just drop it, okay? I'm begging you," Lorelai pleaded quietly, and at the desperate look in her eyes Winter just nodded._

_**Well, this is going to be an interesting night,** Winter thought, still going through the whole situation in her mind while her grandmother continued to question Rory about Chilton, her grandfather read, and her mother just sat there, quietly drinking her martini, and didn't say a word. Not one. This continued until, mercifully, the maid came in to announce that dinner was ready, at which point everyone stood and made their way to the table before taking their seats, with Richard and Emily on either end, Rory and Winter on the right side, and Lorelai on the left._

_**This is going to be a long dinner, **Winter thought seeing the expressions on everyone's faces as the maid came in with the salads._

_And it was a long dinner, although it was turning out to contain much more excitement than Winter had wanted. After a time, her grandparents had begun phrasing their compliments to the girls so that they also doubled as thinly veiled insults to Lorelai._

_**Oh no, not another one,** Winter thought as her grandmother turned to Rory and opened her mouth, a malicious twinkle in her eye._

_"Rory, are you planning on joining the school paper at Chilton? You've always had so much talent as a writer, just like **Christopher**," Emily emphasized Rory and Winter's father's name in a way that suggested that Christopher was solely responsible for Rory's talent and that Lorelai had not been the one to take care of and encourage and guide both Rory and Winter since the day they'd been born._

_Winter could see her mother's jaw clench at this comment, though she allowed it to slide just like all the others, and Winter inwardly sympathized with her mother. Even Rory, though she was still mad at Lorelai, felt the sting and wrongness of Emily's cold and invalid comment._

_**How much longer can this go on? There's no way that Mom can take much more of this before she snaps,** Winter thought, confident of her assessment of her mother's temper. Lorelai and Winter both had very short tempers and neither was afraid to speak their mind when they were pushed too far, although Lorelai did tend to take it just a step farther than Winter did. However, there was no doubt as to the fact that she definitely took after her mother in that aspect, as well as a lot of others._

_Now, seeing how her mother's eyes - which normally were a unique lavender-blue color which Winter had also inherited from her, although Rory's eyes were more of a pure sky blue – turning a cold and wintry ice-blue and filled with barely-suppressed rage, Winter knew that the next insult would be the last. Having seen Lorelai lose her temper before, Winter sincerely hoped that it wouldn't come to that. But somehow she knew that it would._

_And she was right… And, for the first time in her life, she wished she were wrong._

_**No, no, no, no, no…**Winter thought frantically, seeing Richard opening his mouth and facing Emily._

_"You know, I believe that both of these girls are more beautiful and intelligent each time we see them. Clearly, they take after Christopher the most, with his good looks and brains," Richard said, his comment more-than-clearly expressing his obvious contempt for Lorelai, his only daughter though she was._

_**Oh no…** Winter groaned._

_And that was the final straw._

_"Yes, because having no steady job, drinking and partying your way through life, and seeing your daughters **maybe** twice a year is a mark great attractiveness and intelligence," Lorelai said acidly, glaring at her father, a hurricane evident in her now stormy, icy lavender-blue eyes._

_"Lorelai, do not put down Christopher for trying to be a successful business-man. As usual, you're taking what your father said completely the wrong way," Emily commanded her daughter coldly._

_"The **wrong way.** How could I possibly have taken it the **wrong way? **What, exactly, was open to interpretation, Mother," Lorelai, raising her voice, asked her mother sarcastically._

_"Do not raise your voice to your mother, Lorelai!" Richard said, beginning to get angry himself._

_Both Winter and Rory looked quickly at their grandparents in silent shock before looking at their mother and instantly freezing in caution. They had never seen Lorelai look so angry. She sat straight up, her eyes slightly narrowed, revealing nothing but fury, contempt, and pure hatred for the two people who endlessly persecuted her so needlessly and viciously. And when she spoke her voice was soft with danger, cold with fury, and rang with hatred._

_"How dare you? **How dare you **question me?" Lorelai asked, her voice soft and dangerous, like the padding of heavy tigress feet._

_Richard looked like he was about to jump and tell Lorelai how he dared, but Emily stopped him. "Richard, don't," she commanded in a triumphant tone and a malicious smile, as if she had just remembered something vitally important. She turned back to Lorelai. "Lorelai, you will not take that tone with us. You will apologize and act civil," she told her daughter calmly._

_Lorelai opened her mouth, no doubt to tell Emily her opinion of those ideas, but before she could speak Emily interrupted her, saying, "If you don't want us to go back on our side of the deal, you will do as I said and apologize."_

_And the effect on Lorelai was instantaneous. Fear flashed through her still-furious eyes, and she shut her eyes and clenched her jaw once more before opening her eyes to reveal that, while her eyes were still cold and retained every ounce of her anger, her fury was once more contained – if only barely._

_Lorelai sighed and in a calm voice, full of barely-leashed savagery, said, "I'm sorry Mother, Father. Can you please forgive me?" every word filled with regret and bitter defeat._

_Winter and Rory's mouths dropped open in shock and they stared at each other. Their mother, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, had just reigned in her fury, when it was **past** its peak, and apologized. Even though she'd had every right to be furious. Even though she'd been completely right. And it was totally, utterly wrong._

_**WHAT deal? What are they talking about? What's Mom afraid of? And WHY on Earth did she just APOLOGIZE to them? **Winter thought, staring at her mother in shock._

_"Thank you, Lorelai. We accept your apology," Emily said, triumph and satisfaction shining in her eyes._

_"No," Rory said, standing and shocking everyone except Winter. Rory may still be mad at her mother, and the twins may have no idea what was going on, but neither Rory nor Winter were about to sit there and let their grandparents act that way to Lorelai._

_"Rory, don't," Lorelai pleaded with her daughter, as Emily exclaimed in a surprised voice, "Excuse me?"_

_"I said 'no'," Rory stated, looking at her grandmother._

_"Rory…" both Lorelai and Emily said, but with two completely different tones in their voices. Lorelai's tone was soft, pleading; Emily's tone was one of warning._

_Rory glanced at her sister and Winter, taking this as her cue, stood and said, "No. That's enough. We want to know what's going on. Why are you attacking Mom this way?" Winter demanded of her grandmother, before turning and asking Lorelai, "And why are you so willing to just sit there and take it? We saw your eyes; we heard your voice. And we've never seen you manage to stop yourself once you reached your limit, and this time you were so far past it that it practically didn't exist anymore."_

_Emily responded to Winter's statements, "Fine. You want to know what's going on? Very well, I'll tell you," she said, and opened her mouth to continue._

_"No, Mom, don't," Lorelai pleaded, interrupting Emily before she could finish._

_"Why?" Rory asked her mother. "What are you hiding? What don't you want Grandma to tell us?"_

_Lorelai opened her mouth but nothing came out. She just sighed and shook her head._

_"Well, Lorelai, would you like to tell them, or should I?" Emily asked, smiling triumphantly._

_**Someone tell us SOMETHING.**_

_Lorelai sighed again. "I'll tell them," Lorelai said, before going on to inform her daughters of how she had come to her parents after discovering that she couldn't afford to pay the high tuition, their subsequent conversation, and the conditions of the deal that Emily had offered and that Lorelai had reluctantly accepted._

_Both of the twins stared at their mother in shock when she had finished, unable to speak at first._

_**Wow… No wonder she got so upset when Rory said that she wasn't going to Chilton. I would be mad too if I had to do what Mom did. Talk about an unacknowledged sacrifice… **Winter thought, realizing just what her mother had done for her and her sister._

_"Mom…" Rory began, trailing off, before shaking her head. She would apologize later. First things first… "Grandma there's one more condition that's just been added to your little deal. When we come to Friday Night Dinners, you **will not** attack Mom like you did tonight, or, no matter what Mom does, neither Winter nor I will go to Chilton," Rory threatened calmly, while her grandparents stared at her, taken aback._

_Finally, Emily spoke, her voice soft and even somewhat apologetic, "Very well, Rory. You have my word that what happened tonight won't happen again. And…" she trailed off, turning to look at Lorelai, "I'm sorry, Lorelai. And, since I'm sure that you're still quite unhappy with us, the three of you may be excused," Emily finished, looking both fearful and somewhat hopeful of Lorelai's reaction, hoping that she hadn't pushed her daughter too far._

_Lorelai didn't respond as they all got up, the girls got their coats, and they walked out the door. However, before Emily and Richard shut the door, she turned and said, "We'll see you next Friday," and they all knew that she had accepted her parents' apology._

* * *

_After a silent car ride, they stopped in the town square and got out, walking in the direction of the diner._

_"So… That was fun tonight," Winter was the first to break the silence, and Lorelai just nodded._

_"Yep. So how many more of those do you think we'll have to go to?" Rory asked Lorelai timidly._

_"I think the deli spread at my funeral will be the last one, because my parents will outlive us. The damned can do that. Hey, wait a minute. Does that mean?" Lorelai asked Rory, hope in her eyes._

_"Well, we can't all your hard work and sacrifice be for nothing, right?" Rory responded, grinning at her mother, confirming that she had decided to go to Chilton after all._

_"Oh, babe, you won't be sorry," Lorelai said, grinning as she pulled Rory into a hug._

_"I'm so sorry, Mom," Rory whispered into her mother's ear, and Lorelai responded with an equally soft, "It's okay, baby. It's okay."_

_**Much better. Now… **"Hey, what about me?" Winter asked, grinning, causing Rory and Lorelai to laugh and pull her into their hug._

_"So Mom, do you think you can teach me how to do that thing with your eyes and your voice that you did tonight? 'Cause **that** was cool," Winter asked her mother, making them all laugh._

_"Well, I don't know… I'm not sure that you can handle it," Lorelai teased her daughter through their laughter, before conceding, "Okay, okay," and beginning to lecture the girls on the importance getting the stare and tone of voice exactly right._

_**Much, much better…**Winter thought, laughing at her mother's instructions as the girls, rather than heading into the diner like they'd planned, continued past it to head home, unaware that a tall, ruggedly handsome figure clad in a flannel shirt and a baseball cap stood in the shadows watching over them, waiting for the day when one of the Gilmore Girls in particular would finally notice him…_

_**To Be Continued.**_

**_A/N: Well, what did you think? Leave me a review and let me know! :) LOL, sorry guys, I had to use a little bit of foreshadowing with Luke there. But don't worry, I don't plan on making you wait for the Lorelai-Luke relationship nearly as long as Amy did. I will get there soon enough, I'm just drawing out a little bit longer. :) As always, suggestions are welcome, just leave them for me in a review! :D_**


	5. Bad Days and Coffee

_Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls I would have met Lauren Graham (Lorelai Gilmore) by now and I haven't yet. :(_

_A/N: Keep up with the reviews guys! We all know it just inspires me to keep updating quickly and as of yet I haven't missed a day! :) 5 days, 5 chapters! As promised Luke will begin showing up more starting in this chapter, and this chapter will be more of Lorelai's POV than the last chapter. Read and Review please! All suggestions welcome! :) Oh, last thing, this chapter takes place after Winter and Rory have been attending Chilton for about two weeks and somewhere around the episode 'Kill Me Now'. It seems like all of the stories that begin somewhat like mine describe their first day at Chilton, so I decided not to. So just keep that in mind and enjoy!_

_**Chapter Five: Bad Days and Coffee**_

_Lorelai_

_**Oh, my God, I need some coffee…** Lorelai thought, leaving her office which was full of papers and details for the wedding that was taking place here in just one short week, and heading to the kitchen for the delicious black elixir that kept her alive as far as she was concerned. Unfortunately, she walked in on Sookie and Michel having yet another argument that Lorelai assumed had something to do with Michel requesting some kind of healthy diet food that only he ate, and Sookie refusing to make it for him._

_**How have those two not killed each other yet? **Lorelai thought, stopping to watch them for a moment, and thinking about all of the arguments that they'd had._

_"No! I refuse to squander my cooking talents making you your crazy egg-white omelets, Michel! Now, eat this!" Sookie told him, pushing something on a plate that was definitely not an egg-white omelet, and looked a hell of a lot better, at him._

_"I told you I cannot eat that! Ugh! Impossible woman!" Michel said, storming out of the kitchen, making Lorelai and Sookie laugh._

_"But, Sookie," Lorelai said, still laughing, "you make a good egg-white omelet."_

_"Oh, I know," Sookie said, chuckling._

_Lorelai gasped, "That is just plain cruel – and I love it!"_

_"Why thank you," Sookie replied, giving a little bow. "What do you need, honey?"_

_"Coffee, in a vat," Lorelai said, her previous exhaustion returning, and walked over to the line of coffee makers to pour herself a cup of the delicious liquid._

_"Aw, what's wrong? Is it Michel?" Sookie asked, looking concerned._

_"No, not Michel, this insane double wedding," Lorelai groaned and then sighed after taking a sip of her coffee. Coffee made everything better. At least until the coffee was gone, anyway._

_"Ah," Sookie said, understanding – the two brides were identical twins that seemed to have completely opposite opinions on EVERYTHING from the color of the flowers to the decision "Soup or Salad?", and whose poor mother was just about ready to give up, leave the two here, and run away to a deserted island and never come back._

_"Well, back to work," Lorelai sighed and walked out after refilling her already-emptied coffee cup._

_**This is gonna be a long day…** Lorelai thought, returning to the chaotic mess that dominated her office at the moment, and shook her head._

* * *

_**And I thought dealing with Michel could be stressful,** Lorelai thought, walking across the square on her way to Luke's after finishing up at the inn, and heading to wait for the girls at the diner where they had all agreed to meet up for dinner._

_"Hey, Luke," Lorelai called out as she walked in, the bell above the door jingling to announce her arrival._

_Luke stood behind the counter as usual and as soon he saw her come in he turned around grabbed a coffee cup and filled with Lorelai's non-alcoholic drink of choice._

_"Ah, see, you know what I like," Lorelai said gratefully, walking over to sit at the counter, and picking up the coffee._

_"After all this time, it was bound to sink in eventually," Luke replied with the small smile he reserved just for her._

_Lorelai grinned before giving him a look, followed by her patented, "Dirty!"_

_Luke glared at her for a moment in mock-anger before relaxing and asking, "So what brings you in here? Waiting for Winter and Rory?"_

_"Yep. See, you really DO know me, don't you?" Lorelai teased, smiling._

_Luke smiled back and, pulling out his pen and pad, asked, "So, I assume you'll be ordering your usual Food for Twelve meal? Cheeseburgers, chili-cheese fries, boysenberry pie to finish, and absolutely nothing healthy?"_

_"You practically read my mind," Lorelai said with a somewhat-tired grin that Luke picked up on._

_"Hey, you okay? You seem kinda tired," Luke said, looking at Lorelai, eyes soft with concern._

_"Yeah…No…It's just this insane double wedding that we're having at the inn this week. The brides are twins that can't agree on ANYTHING, and Michel is no help, as usual. And then there are still a million little details left to be taken care of, and a thousand different little things that could go wrong. Actually, one of them already has gone wrong, because the stand that was supposed to hold some of the band members is leaning because obviously it was put together wrong by some guy who makes even YOU look verbose, and I haven't been able to get ahold of the repairman to come fix it and I have been having a couple of really bad days and pretty running on JUST my precious, life-giving coffee, which is difficult even for me," Lorelai ranted quickly, before stopping abruptly and drinking some more of her coffee._

_Luke would have been stunned if he hadn't known her so well. As it was, he just poured her some more coffee, knowing that she needed it even more than usual. "All right, look, I know a little bit about stands. I will come and fix it for you some time tomorrow morning, if you want," Luke offered, more than willing to help out in any way possible if it would help relieve even a little bit of Lorelai's stress._

_"Really, Luke? You're the best," Lorelai grinned at him gratefully. **I knew I could always count on Luke.**_

* * *

_Rory_

_"Yeah, yeah…" Luke said, before hearing the bell above the door announce Lorelai's daughters' arrival and saying, "I'll go put in your order; you just go sit down and relax with the girls."_

_Lorelai smiled, getting up to go and sit with Rory and Winter. "Hey, girls, how was your day?" she asked them after they all sat down._

_Rory replied first, rolling her eyes and saying, "Paris is seriously taking this whole rivalry thing overboard. Today, she dropped her stuff, and when I tried to help her pick it up she literally snatched the stuff out of my hands, like I was trying to steal it or something."_

_Lorelai and Winter gave identical smirks and Winter said, "Yeah, but her face was pretty funny when she did it – 13 different shades of red." Immediately afterwards, Lorelai added, "If you really want to piss her off you could always try going around imitating her whenever she's around. That'll earn you at least 15 different shades of red," she offered and she and Winter immediately began laughing._

_Rory shook her head at them in amazed amusement. Both of the twins were best friends with their mother, as well as each other, and were remarkably like her in a lot of ways. Still, even though Rory took after her mother when it came to her tastes in fashion, music, books, movies, junk food, her fast-paced way of talking, her love of coffee; even guys. And even though the girls weren't overly vain, the three of them were all well aware of the fact that they were all very beautiful, though Lorelai was so beautiful that she would easily have surpassed the twins even if their beauty was combined. Still, they did have their differences. Rory was more serious than Lorelai a lot of the time, she was more studious, reserved, and she was almost annoyingly on-time. Then there were the physical differences between them: Rory had the same light brown hair color as her father; her eyes were blue, but they were sky blue; Rory was tall, but still a couple of inches shorter than her mother; her skin was fair and pale but not quite as fair and clear as Lorelai's; Rory tended to be shy and a little bit quiet. Winter, on the other hand, was almost freakishly like the twins' mother; so much that it was almost as if she were Lorelai's clone instead of her daughter, sometimes. Both Lorelai and Winter's tastes matched exactly and their opinions on anything rarely differed. However, it was the physical similarities between them that were truly amazing. Winter's hair was such a dark brown that it could almost be called black, exactly like Lorelai's own dark tresses; her eyes were the same distinct sparkling lavender-blue that only she and Lorelai seemed blessed with; her pale, fair skin matched her mother's exactly; both she and Lorelai had the same quick temper that could sometimes get them into trouble, or, sometimes, even get them OUT of trouble. Still, even they had their differences. Rory and Winter were the same height, 5'7, while Lorelai was 5'9; Winter preferred writing poetry to reading it; she was the only one of the Gilmore Girls with any artistic talent whatsoever; and she was more of an environmentalist than Rory or Lorelai. However, on the whole, Winter and Lorelai could be doppelgängers if they were the same age. And, strangely enough, this didn't bother Rory the way that it might bother some other people. All three of the girls were both similar and different in many ways, and that was ok because it was just THEM._

_Rory suddenly realized that she had been carrying on her internal babbling for some time now and tuned back into the conversation just as Luke was bringing over their food._

_**Mm, perfect timing. I'm starving,** Rory thought, smiling at the sight of the food._

_"Thanks, Luke," she said, smiling at him as he set the plates down._

_He smiled before turning to Lorelai and saying, "So, I'll be over around ten tomorrow morning, okay?"_

_Lorelai grinned. "Sure, thanks for doing this, Luke. You have no idea how much I appreciate it," she said sincerely._

_"No problem. Enjoy your food," he said, walking away._

_"What's going on?" Rory asked curiously and both of the twins looked at Lorelai._

_"Luke's gonna come to the inn and fix this stand that we desperately need for the wedding, which has, unfortunately, been put together wrong," Lorelai replied, picking up her burger and taking a bite._

_"Are you sure that's the only reason he's coming over?" Winter teased. Everyone knew that Luke was into Lorelai – except for Lorelai._

_"Not that again," Lorelai groaned, "Yes that is the only reason that Luke is coming over. Now eat your deliciously unhealthy food."_

_"All right, all right," the girls said before digging into the food._

* * *

_Lorelai_

_**I don't know why everyone thinks that Luke has a thing for me,** Lorelai thought the next morning, waiting for Luke to arrive. She wouldn't still be thinking about that, except for the fact that as they were leaving to catch their bus this morning the girls had teasingly wished her luck on her date with Luke. **Insane children. If they weren't so adorable and I didn't love them so much, I would kick their cute little butts.**_

_Lorelai's musings were interrupted when Luke arrived carrying his toolbox, and Lorelai quickly managed to forget all about her daughters' silly accusations._

_"Hey, Luke. Right on time," Lorelai said, coming out from behind the front desk to greet him._

_Luke nodded. "Hey. So where's the stand? I wanna try to get it fixed before the lunch rush starts, 'cause otherwise Cesar starts to panic," Luke explained, shrugging._

_"Well, of course he does. So, yeah, it's right outside, over here," Lorelai responded, leading him outside._

_"Huh. I don't know how that guy managed to screw this up so badly, but don't worry it's an easy fix. It'll only take an hour, tops," Luke said, pulling out the necessary tools from his toolbox._

_"Really? Cool, can I help?" Lorelai asked excitedly._

_Luke looked at her like she was insane, "Do you actually know anything about stands, or fixing things?"_

_"Well, no, not really, but I could learn," Lorelai admitted, somewhat less enthusiastic now that she was thinking it through._

_Luke smiled like this was what he expected and said, "Tell you what. How about for today you just watch and next time you can help out a little bit?"_

_Lorelai considered it for a moment. "Well… Alright, but only if you promise to actually let me help next time," Lorelai conceded._

_"Okay, it's a date, okay?" Luke said before he could stop himself, and the silence between them was suddenly electric, full of the tension that sometimes coursed between them in moments like these._

_Before Lorelai could respond, a middle-aged blond woman – the mother of the twin brides whose wedding the stand was for – appeared and began speaking to Lorelai. "It's been going on for hours, and it won't stop. It has been TWO HOURS of soup or salad. SOUP OR SALAD. That's it. I'm leaving. Call me a cab. I am going to go…far away…and never come back," she said to Lorelai, her voice full of stress._

_"How about if the guests get a choice of soup OR salad?" Lorelai suggested, trying to calm the woman down._

_"That…that could work," the woman said, sounding remarkably calmer._

_As Lorelai followed the woman to try and help calm the situation she couldn't seem able to control the way that her thoughts kept drifting to a man with a stone exterior but a bigger heart than almost anyone else you would ever meet underneath. A man with horrible fashion sense, who dressed in flannel and was never seen without a backwards baseball hat atop his head, and whose ruggedly handsome features seemed to light up from within whenever he saw her. And she began to wonder… **Did **Luke have feelings for her... and did she have feelings for him? She had always thought that the answer to both of those questions was "no". But suddenly… she wasn't so sure._

_**To Be Continued.**_

_**A/N: I know. Definitely not my best work. :) Still, leave me a review anyway. Constructive criticism is always appreciated! :D**_

_**P.S: I know that the twins' role in this chapter was pretty minor. I really wanted to start exploring the Lorelai-Luke relationship, but the next chapter will have more Winter and Rory in it. :P Thanks for reading!**_


	6. Coffee

Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls the seventh season would have been WAY better than it was and ASP would still have been writing the scripts so that we could have found out what her final 3 words of the show were! :(

A/N: This chapter's focus will mainly be on Rory and Winter, and their experience so far at Chilton. And, yes, I know that you're waiting for Luke and Lorelai to get together but I'm going to draw it just a little more so that I can decide which direction I want to go in with their relationship.

**Zoe: I always felt that they should have really emphasized Luke's relationship with Rory on the show, too. Also, in this story, Chris will show up, but he will have had an even more minor relationship with Rory and Winter and his and Lorelai's relationship will be very different than it was on the show. **

A/N (Continued): Anyways, thanks for all the reviews guys (Jarnac 50, BFD, Zoe, Haley Elizabeth James, musiclovessoul, Broadwayfreak5357, and AddisonBitchCurlsx)! Keep them coming, they really inspire me to keep writing! And any silent readers – come on review! You know you want to! :D

**Chapter Six: Coffee…**

Lorelai

A couple of days had passed, and Lorelai still had no idea what she was going to do about the situation with Luke. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that everyone had been right.

Luke liked her. It was obvious in the way that he smiled when she was around, the way that he would do anything for not just her, but Rory and Winter as well; and it was obvious in the way that he sometimes looked at her – as if he would love nothing more than to kiss her.

But he hadn't. He had never taken any of those opportunities to kiss her, had never asked her out. And she had a feeling that he never would. And, most of all, she wasn't sure how she felt about her best guy friend being in love with her for YEARS and not saying anything about it.

Lorelai's thoughts, as she sat at the kitchen table waiting for the twins to get home from school and pretending to read a magazine, were interrupted when she heard the front door open and then slam shut.

"Mom!" Rory called out, her sister following behind her as she she stood waiting for her mother's reply.

"In the kitchen!" Lorelai called back, hastily shoving all thoughts of Luke away and assuming looking down at the magazine in front of her. She hadn't yet told Rory or Winter about her recent revelation that Luke was in love with her.

**I'll tell them eventually, just not right now,** Lorelai thought defensivelyand then sighed.** I should tell them now. No, I will tell them now,** Lorelai thought as she looked up, waiting for the girls to make their way into the kitchen.

And she was going to tell them. Until they came into the kitchen with identical looks of stress, annoyance, and mental exhaustion. Rory just dropped her book bag on the floor, while Winter spoke for them both. "Coffee," was all Winter said, mirroring her twin's previous action of dropping her bag on the floor.

**Or maybe I'll tell them tomorrow,** Lorelai thought, immediately getting up and pouring each of the girls a cup of the coffee that she had made about a half-hour before, not saying a word, before the three of them sat down at the kitchen table. Lorelai just sipped her own coffee, still not speaking, waiting for one of them to explain what was going on.

**And here we go…** Lorelai thought, putting down her coffee cup and sitting up a little straighter in her chair, as Winter opened her mouth to speak.

Winter

Winter set down her coffee, deciding it was time to break the silence, and said, more like ranted quickly, "It's just that girl Paris we told you about was such a jerk to Rory today and that idiot Tristan kept bugging me and he's still calling Rory "Mary" and me "Magdalene", which we actually meant to ask you about because we can't figure out what it means, and the teachers make us take pages and PAGES of notes and they give tests every other day and they assign new reading material in at least one class literally EVERY day and we still need to catch up on our make-up reading material and it's just really hard and we're just a little frustrated about it!" Winter finished with a quick huff and picked up her coffee again, waiting to see how Lorelai would react to the daunting load of new information.

**Man that felt SO good. I should have done that days ago. Now, maybe Mom can help us find a way to get everything back on track,** Winter thought, relieved that she had finally told her mom what had been bothering her and Rory for the past few weeks since they had started Chilton.

Lorelai just blinked, only slightly stunned by the information that her daughter had just unloaded on her. "Okay, let's just take this a step at a time to begin with. First, Rory is there anything that you wanna add to that list?" Lorelai asked, turning to Rory, who had been silent throughout her sister's rant.

"No, I think that just about covers everything. Oh, wait, did she mention that Headmaster Charleston seems like an ass? Because I don't know why but he really does," Rory commented with some amusement.

Lorelai smirked, "No, she didn't mention Charleston but I already knew that he was an ass. Okay, next order of business. Second, Paris is just an insecure little brat, so just take whatever she throws at you and give it right back to her. Third, Winter, Tristan's bugging you because he's attracted to you. Trust me, been there, done that. Just ignore him and eventually he'll find himself another distraction. Fourth, I seriously can't believe that guys still say that," Lorelai said, laughing and remembering her own days of going to a stuck up, snotty rich-kid private school.

"What?" Winter asked, desperate to get to the bottom of Tristan's weird nicknames for her and her sister. "Yeah, what are you talking about? Come on, why does Tristan call me "Mary"?" Rory demanded, as her mom laughed at a joke that only she knew.

"'Mary', like the Virgin Mary," Lorelai explained, smiling. "It means he thinks you look like a goody-goody," Lorelai laughed.

"Well, what would he have called me if he thought I looked like a slut?" Rory asked, somewhat afraid that she already knew the answer.

**No way…**

"Well, he might have added a Magdalene to it," Lorelai explained with a small smile, looking over at Winter to see her reaction.

**No way! I am NOT a slut!**

"I do NOT dress like a slut!" Winter protested vehemently, even though she wasn't entirely sure why she was so upset.

**Stupid Tristan…**

"I know, honey, I know," Lorelai soothed her. "Besides, no daughter of mine is a 'Mary'. Being related to me automatically disqualifies you," Lorelai added with a smirk, her eyes sparkling, causing the twins to laugh and forget their offended feelings.

"What's fifth?" Rory asked once their laughter subsided.

"Fifth, I know the notes seem pretty bad right now, but don't worry. You'll get the hang of it, you just need to abbreviate a little more. Sixth, I'm sorry, but there's really nothing that you can do about the tests except be prepared. And finally, you WILL catch up on the reading. It's just gonna take some time," Lorelai said, soothing them.

Both of the girls looked at each other and sighed, having one of those silent conversations that only they and Lorelai could understand. Rory gave a small, fleeting smile that seemed to say, 'We really should have talked to Mom sooner'. At this, Winter smiled, seeming to say, 'Yeah, I know. I feel better, too'. Both Rory and Winter then jumped up and ran to hug their mom.

**I knew that we could count on her. We always can,** Winter thought with a smile, hugging Lorelai at the same time that Rory did, just like the two of them had been doing ever since they could remember.

"Thanks, Mom," Rory said softly into Lorelai's shoulder.

"Aw, you're welcome kid," Lorelai said, kissing the top of Rory's head before turning to do the same to Winter. "You, too," she added, grinning down at Winter, who grinned back at her.

"Aw, you're gonna be just fine," Lorelai said, giving both of her daughters a squeeze. "Now, first things first. What and when is the next major test for the two of you?" Lorelai asked, getting down to business.

"The Shakespeare test on Friday. It counts for 20% of our English grade in Mr. Medina's class," Winter replied.

"Okay, now, what do we need to do to get the two of you an A on that test?" Lorelai asked, already trying to think of what they could do to get the twins as ready as possible in the next three days between now (Monday) and Friday.

Rory and Winter looked at each other slightly apprehensively before looking back at Lorelai. "Well, first we need some more coffee," Rory said, and the three returned to the kitchen to, the twins grabbing their notes and English books and Lorelai going to make more coffee, and they began the first of their four days of studying.

[Thursday, 6 PM]

The bell over the door at Luke's rang, announcing the presence of the three exhausted, overworked, and more-than-slightly-irritable Gilmore girls. They walked up to counter, where Luke stood watching them with mild worry at their obviously-tired state, and they said in unison, "Coffee."

Luke, having known them for years and spent as much time with them outside the diner as well as inside of it, knew that it would be a very big, and possibly fatal, mistake to even attempt to refuse them at this particular moment. So, he did the smart thing – he poured their coffee.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked the three of them, looking concerned, and so the they explained to him about the big test that they had coming up the next day and how they had been studying for it almost non-stop since Monday.

"I'll get you some food and some boysenberry pie," Luke said sympathetically when they were done, and went into the kitchen without bothering to wait for them to order. He knew what they liked.

The girls looked at each other and smiled, already feeling a little bit better. "Thanks, Luke!" Winter called as they went at sat at one of the tables near the door.

Winter shook her head in amusement. **Luke acts grumpy all the time, but it's just that – an act,** Winter thought, thinking about all the things that Luke had done for their family over the years. He must have fixed just about everything in their house at LEAST once by now. He complained about their eating and coffee-drinking habits, but when they were upset he knew just what to bring them without them saying a word, just like today. When Rory and Winter were first learning how to ride their bikes without training wheels and then Rory fell off of hers in front of the diner Luke dropped what he was doing and ran outside to help Lorelai take care of her, and then after Rory had been taken care of he brought Lorelai, Rory, and Winter inside and made them all chocolate milkshakes to make them feel better. He was there when Winter and Rory were in the Stars Hollow Elementary school production of Fiddler on the Roof, even though everyone knows that kids make Luke uncomfortable, just because the twins asked him to go. He was there for all of their birthdays and he always had a Christmas present for them. But it was more than all those things… He was **there**.

Winter laughed inwardly when she saw what Luke was carrying as he walked up to them, arms laden with several plates. **He really does know us all too well,** Winter thought, smiling.

"Okay… Burger, with American cheese and mayonnaise, and cheese fries for Winter. Burger, with Swiss cheese and mayonnaise, and plain fries for Rory. And, for Lorelai, a burger, with Cheddar cheese and bacon, and cheese fries. And a plate of chili-cheese fries for the three of you to share," Luke listed, setting the plates of food down in front of their respective owners and putting the chili-cheese fries in the center of the table.

"Thanks, Luke," the three of them chorused, picking up their burgers to start eating.

Luke just shook his head, smiling at them. "Hey, good luck on your test. I'm sure you'll do great… Well, enjoy the food; I'll bring your pie when you're done," Luke said, slightly awkwardly – he never had been good at expressing his emotions, but at least he tried – and then he escaped to kitchen.

The girls put down their burgers to watch him go, turned to look at each other for a moment, and then, unable to stand it any longer, they all burst out laughing.

**Even if he doesn't mean to, Luke can always make us laugh… And he definitely knows how to make us feel better,** Winter thought as their hysterics continued.

Once the girls had finished all of their food they returned home to continue their last night of soul-deadening, mind-numbing studying. Which would have been fine. Except for one thing – they fell asleep. And 4:29 in the morning found them all passed out in the living room: Rory on the one large, couch-like chair in the room (which was actually pretty comfortable) and Lorelai and Winter were on the couch, with Winter having eventually slid from her original sitting-up position to end up with her head resting on her mother's flat stomach and Lorelai's arm coming up to rest on her daughter's shoulder. And 5:30 found them in the same position. And so did 6:30, and 7:00, and 7:24, at which point they finally began to stir.

Winter sighed, shifting a bit. **I should probably get up. Huh. I wonder what time it is? I never heard my alarm go off… It must not be time to be up quite yet 'cause if it was Rory would already have gotten me up, but I should probably get up anyway… Oh, my God, I need some coffee… **Winter thought, about to get up, and then she stopped.** Why does it feel like there's a hand on my shoulder?** Winter slowly cracked open her eyes, wincing at the brightness, and looked at her shoulder. **Yep, that's a hand alright.** Winter turned her head again and smiled, realizing that she must have fallen asleep on the couch with her head resting on her mom's stomach and her arm wrapped around Lorelai's waist, with Lorelai's hand resting on her shoulder while she slept. **Huh. I haven't this great in a long time.** Winter snorted amusedly.** Ha! I should have fallen asleep on top of Mom a long time ago.** Winter smiled contently, and then it occurred to her. She and her mom and Rory, who was still sleeping on the living room chair, had fallen asleep sometime early that morning. **We fell asleep in the living room. There are no alarms in the living room.** Winter's brain was slowly trying to make sense of the overwhelming feeling of panic that was suddenly coursing through her. **No alarms… Alarms set to get us up for school. School… **Winter gasped, suddenly realizing why she was so panicked and now horrified.** The test! No! **

"No, no, no, no, no!" Winter cried out, jumping up. "Get up! What time is it?" Winter screamed, startling her mother and sister out of sleep, and looking for the clock. "Oh, my God! It's 7:30! The test starts at 8:15! Rory, Mom! Get UP!" Winter yelled, running up the stairs to get to her room and find her uniform.

Downstairs, Rory and Lorelai, having finally woken up enough to understand the situation, both jumped up and ran for their rooms, desperate to hurry up and get dressed and go.

5 minutes later, they all ran towards the door, the twins carrying their book bags and Lorelai carrying her purse and grabbing her keys. "Come on, let's go!" Lorelai yelled as they all climbed into the jeep so that, since Rory and Winter had missed their bus, Lorelai could take them to school.

"It's okay. It only takes 30 minutes to get to Hartford. It'll only be 8:05 when we get there, and the test doesn't start until 8:15. We're gonna make it," Rory said, and all three of them sighed in relief. Unfortunately, it wasn't as sure of a thing as they all thought.

"Ow! My bracelet's caught in my hair. Mom, help me, please," Winter pleaded, pain coursing through her scalp with every accidental pull that she made. Rory could have helped, but she was sitting in the back seat and it would have been more difficult. Besides, Lorelai was better at it, anyway.

"Just a sec. Okay, here we go, just hold still, baby," Lorelai said, stopping as they came to a small intersection on the old dirt road in the woods, and leaned over to untangle her daughter's wrist from her scalp.

"Phew. Thanks," Winter sighed in relief as her mom finished.

Lorelai smiled at her daughter before replying, "No prob – Ahh!" Lorelai started to say, "No problem" but screamed in unison with her daughters as they felt the jeep rock as something hit the passenger's side.

They all turned in shock to see a deer run past the jeep, across the road, and then disappear into the trees on the other side of the road. "Did we just get hit by a deer?" Rory asked confusedly, still in shock, and they all exchanged a quick glance before getting out of the car to stare at the spot where the deer had disappeared.

"I think we did… I think we just got HIT by a deer," Lorelai said slowly, the shock slowly making its way out of her system.

"Do you think it's okay?" Winter asked concernedly. She was a bit of an environmentalist and therefore cared about wildlife as well – even if she didn't like doing things outdoors or being NEAR any real wildlife.

"I don't know. It hit the jeep pretty hard, but it did get right back up and run off, so I guess it's okay," Rory said thoughtfully, staring into the trees.

"Well, do you we should try and find it, to make sure it's not hurt?" Winter asked, not really relishing the thought of combing through the woods first thing in the morning, trying to find some crazy kamikaze deer.

"I really don't think we have time," Lorelai said, just as unenthusiastic as her daughter at the idea of voluntarily going into the woods. Neither Lorelai Leigh, Victoria Winter, nor Lorelai Victoria Gilmore were exactly outdoors-y people.

"Oh, my God, the test!" Rory suddenly remembered, and they all scrambled to get back in the car, noting that it was now 7:57 – and they were still 20 minutes away from Chilton.

**Oh, shit…**

Even though Lorelai drove as fast as she could without wrapping them around a tree, when they finally got to Chilton and looked at the clock, they saw those dreaded numbers, 8:15, staring back at them. Still, they couldn't just give up, so they all hurried to exit the car and make their way into the school's main office.

"I am sorry, but, as I said, it's 8:18. Classes start promptly at 8:15. I'm afraid you've missed first period. You'll have to go and wait in the library until **second** period begins," the office clerk repeated in her monotonous voice after the girls pleaded with her to recant her first utterance of this exact same statement.

"No, you don't understand," Lorelai began for the third time, and was interrupted by a voice coming from behind her.

"Ms. Gilmore, girls, perhaps you would like to step into my office and explain this to me. After all, we wouldn't want to cause a scene, now would we?" Headmaster Charleston's voice cut through Lorelai's statement as he held the door to his office open for them.

"No, we definitely wouldn't want that," Lorelai muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Charleston asked politely with only a **slightly**-pointed glance at Lorelai.

"Nothing. Come on, girls," Lorelai said as she, Rory, and Winter walked into the Headmaster's office and Lorelai took seat, her daughters standing side by side behind her.

"Now, what seems to be the problem?" Charleston asked, taking a seat in his own, high-backed chair.

"Well, your **swell** office clerk in their won't let Rory and Winter go take their test," Lorelai said sarcastically.

"They are late," he responded, unaffected by Lorelai's sarcasm.

"Yes, but there were extenuating circumstances. See, we don't live locally as you," Lorelai was interrupted for the second time that morning.

"The dog ate my homework. My religion prohibits studying after sundown. I went blind last night, but I'm fine now," Charleston listed, unabashedly interrupting Lorelai.

"I wasn't making excuses," Lorelai said, even more pointedly than before.

"Ms. Gilmore this institution is here to educate its students, not to coddle them," he went on, ignoring Lorelai's statement.

"Yes, and I'm asking you to, please, educate my kids," Lorelai pleaded.

"We will, when they're on time," Charleston stated firmly, standing and walking to the door.

"Is there a reason you're holding that door?" Lorelai asked coldly, standing now.

"Our meeting is over," he replied calmly, unmoved by Lorelai's anger.

"Like hell it is," Lorelai responded furiously.

**Whoa. Go, Mom,** Winter thought. She and Rory had move off to the side of the room to observe the showdown between their mom and the headmaster. **I hope she lets him have it. He deserves it,** Winter thought angrily. She was having a hard time controlling her temper, although Rory who was standing beside her, while angry, was standing quietly, holding her tongue.

"Ms. Gilmore, we do not allow tardiness at Chilton and if your daughters cannot abide by that simple rule then perhaps they should not attend this school. They don't have to go to school here. Maybe they shouldn't. I told your daughters this when they first arrived here, and now I will tell you the same thing. This place is not for everyone. We maintain impossible standards and a somewhat impersonal, though very thorough, learning environment and such an environment does foster very competitive children, and if your daughters can't handle it then they should leave," Charleston completed calmly, still unmoved from his position by the door.

This last statement sent Lorelai into overdrive. "How dare you? 'highly competitive children' my ass. They are horrible, snotty; stuck up kids who treat each other like dirt and who thrive on making normal people feel like they're LESS than them!" Lorelai ranted, her fury overflowing.

"Yeah! And then they act like they're oh-so-innocent whenever an adult is around, and then as soon as the adult's back is turned they go right back to whatever stupid, asinine thing that they were doing in the first place!" Winter said furiously, stepping forward to stand next to her mother, her own temper snapping in two.

"That is enough!" Charleston commanded before either of the girls could continue. The two Gilmores were surprised enough that they remained silent. "As I said before, Rory and Winter don't have to go to school here; you are more than welcome to withdraw them from Chilton and enroll them somewhere else. Now, seeing as this is the first time that Rory and Winter have been late, I am willing to consider allowing the two of you," he addressed the twins for a moment, "to do some extra-credit work to make up for the missed test. However, another outburst from either of you," this last to Lorelai and Winter, "will not be on the options list. Now, I suggest you take your daughters home now and decide what it is that you are going to do. Goodbye," Charleston completed, holding the door as the girls walked through it, and shutting the door once they had gone.

**Wow…**

"Wow. I feel… sixteen," Lorelai mused as they walked down the school hallway, and they all cracked up.

"So, what do you think? Chilton or Stars Hollow High, what's the verdict?" Lorelai asked once they all managed to calm down a little.

"I'm not ready to give up on Chilton, yet. I know that we can catch up. We just need a little more time, I'm sure of it," Rory said passionately.

"Okay. If that's really what you want, go for it. Winter?" Lorelai asked, turning to face her other daughter.

Winter sighed. "They're all really stuck up, but if Rory's going to keep going to school here… Well, I **guess** she's worth it," Winter said teasingly, glancing at Rory, and they all laughed as they walked out the front entrance and out to the car.

"Well, at least we learned one thing today," Rory said before they got in.

"What?" Lorelai asked, she and Winter giving Rory confused looks.

"Winter **definitely** gets her temper from you," Rory teased her mother and sister, and they glared at her for a moment before giving in and laughing again as they all got into the jeep.

**Well, it's not exactly how I thought the morning would go, but I do feel better… Even if I do have Mom's temper,** Winter thought, chuckling contentedly.

**To Be Continued.**

**A/N: Yes! I finally finished it! It would have been up yesterday, but, obviously, this one was a little bit longer than usual. So repay me for my Herculean efforts and leave me a review! :)**


	7. Friday Night Dinner with a Twist

_Disclaimer: My birthday is in 2 days and all I want is the rights to Gilmore Girls…_

_A/N: So, I'm back! Sorry this chapter took so long guys my laptop charger broke and I just got a replacement today (yay!)._

_**BFD: No, Lorelai will not be with Max or even hold a conversation with him.**_

_**Broadwayfreakk5357: I'm glad you liked it. :D And the Lorelai/Luke interaction you crave will show up more in the next couple chapters. I just need to find the right way to lead into it, and I think I found it. **_

_**Zoe: Trying my best to keep up with the quick updates just had computer troubles. :D**_

_**Jarnac50: I would have Luke teach them to cook but we all know that on the show Lorelai and Rory are HOPELESS at cooking and I don't want to alter their characters THAT completely. But I will try to fit something in about him teaching them to do/ helping them do something. :)**_

_A/N (Continued): So, I've decided to tweak the show's storyline a little. In my story, Richard and Jason Stiles are already in business together (and, yes, Emily still hates him). Lorelai will not be paired with Max; I've decided to pair her with Jason. But, before you start to worry, this is only a temporary pairing which will actually be my lead into Lorelai and Luke's relationship. So, just hold on for a couple more chapters. Also, Rory and Winter will play a very small part in this chapter; the main focus will be on Lorelai. Well, here goes…_

_**Chapter Seven: Friday Night Dinner with a Twist**_

_Lorelai_

_Lorelai sat at the far end of the counter in the diner, watching Luke carefully as he walked the last customer to the door before locking it._

_"And we are officially closed," Luke said, sighing with relief that he wouldn't have to deal with any more of his crazy customers until tomorrow – well, except for one._

_"Yeah, finally," Lorelai murmured, still watching Luke as he began wiping down all of the tables._

_**I can't believe he hasn't made a move yet!** It had been weeks since Lorelai had had her little revelation about hers and Luke's relationship. WEEKS. And he hadn't done a thing. And she made sure he had plenty of chances, too. Each day, she was a little more intimate with her flirting; she invaded his personal space just a little bit more. And she could see what it did to him; she could see that he wanted her. And she gave him every opportunity to reach out and take her… but he didn't._

_So, tonight Lorelai came into the diner late and stayed until after he closed, just as she had every other night for past several weeks. She sat at the counter sipping her coffee, he walked around cleaning and closing up the diner, and they flirted continuously, which had become normal for them at some point during the last weeks._

_**Hmph! Sure, we flirt all the time, but one little kiss is just too much to ask, apparently, **Lorelai thought resentfully. **All I want is one kiss… Well, I actually want a lot more than that, but I ****do**** just want a kiss to start with…** Lorelai's thoughts trailed off as she thought about just how MUCH more than a kiss she wanted._

_A small, comfortable silence, had fallen between the pair; and Lorelai was suddenly hyper-aware as she felt the presence directly behind her. **Luke,** Lorelai thought, and had to force herself to hold still as he leaned over her right shoulder, to reach the empty ketchup bottle in front of her, and she felt his warm breath on her neck and the heat of his strong, masculine body so near her back. As he began to lean back away from her, the now all-too-familiar frustration at his seeming refusal to kiss her welled up once more, nearly overwhelming her with its intensity and need._

_And so, as he stood tall once more, Lorelai spun and stood before he could step away. Because of his close proximity, as she stood the two of them found themselves pressed against each other, their chests and legs touching lightly and their faces no more than three inches apart._

_"Oops, sorry," Lorelai murmured softly, not sounding sorry at all, and smirked slightly at his obvious shock and underlying desire. **God, he feels good…**_

_"I…I…uh…" Luke stammered, losing himself in Lorelai's sparkling lavender-blue eyes._

_**Come on, Luke…** Lorelai thought, smirking at him again. "You okay?" she asked softly, leaning forward slightly, so that they were even closer than before. **If he doesn't kiss me now, he never will,** Lorelai thought, and stood there, waiting to see what he would do._

_And, for a moment, she really felt like he was going to do it. He was finally going to kiss her. **Yes, Luke… Yes…** Lorelai thought, urging him on silently._

_And then she saw it – the subtle lightening of his eyes as he once more leaned back and took a step away from her._

_**No! Damn it, Luke…** Lorelai thought exasperated and aggravated with Luke's hesitation. She sighed in resignation and grabbed her bag off the counter. "I guess I'm gonna go, then," she said as she walked to the door, before turning to face him once more._

_He just stood there, watching her go, and said, "Oh, okay. I guess I'll…see you tomorrow."_

_Lorelai just shook her head and gave a little half-smile. "'Bye, Luke," she said, and then she walked out of the diner._

_**That's it,** she thought. **I'm done. I've given him weeks of chances. He doesn't want to take them – that's fine, but I'm done.** She told herself this with such determination and confidence – that she actually managed to convince herself that it was the truth._

* * *

_"Rory, Winter! Come on, time to go!" Lorelai yelled, hurrying down the stairs and grabbing her coat off the back of the couch._

_"Alright, alright, we're coming!" Rory yelled back, coming out of her room, as Winter came down the stairs saying, "I told you we shouldn't have stayed at the mall so long this afternoon. We're gonna be late to Friday Night Dinner and Grandma's gonna be mad."_

_"Yes, yes, you were right. Now, let's go," Lorelai replied as they ran out the door._

_**Oh, God. Mom's gonna kill me for being late…**_

_"You're late," was Emily Gilmore's first statement when she opened the door to reveal Lorelai, Rory, and Winter standing there at 7:10._

_"No, I'm Lorelai," Lorelai responded, trying to downplay her mother's annoyance._

_Emily just sighed. "Come in, girls, and join us all in the living room."_

_"Join us all, Grandma?" Rory asked, confused._

_"Yes, your grandfather's business partner, Jason Stiles, is here for dinner as well," Emily replied as the maid took the girls coats._

_"Ugh, Digger," Lorelai responded, rolling her eyes._

_"Lorelai, that was his nickname as a child and he's very sensitive about it. Now, you will kindly refrain from offending him by using it. Besides, Jason has grown up quite well. Why don't you save your opinions until you at least see the man," Emily said sternly, leading them towards the living room._

_Before Lorelai could make a retort, they arrived in the living room, and suddenly she couldn't argue with her mother's comment. Jason **had** grown up **very** well._

_"Ah, girls, you're here. Rory, Winter I'd like you to meet my business partner, Jason Stiles. Jason, these are my granddaughters, Rory and Winter," Richard said proudly, introducing the three of them, before adding, "Lorelai, you remember Jason, and Jason, I'm sure you remember my daughter."_

_"Of course, it's nice to see you again, Jason," Lorelai said, smiling at him as they shook hands._

_"Of course, Richard, how could anyone forget Lorelai Gilmore? It's **very** nice to see you again," Jason said, his eyes growing slightly darker as he took in the sight of her, enjoying what he saw and smiling warmly at her._

_Emily and Richard didn't notice a thing, but Rory and Winter could see the attraction that shimmered between the two. They knew that Jason would ask their mom out – and they knew that, for once, she would say yes._

_"So, what do you think? Is he worthy?" Winter asked Rory quietly as they walked to the formal dining room. "Hm. I don't know. We'll just have to wait and see. She seems to like him," Rory commented just as quietly. The two of them looked at each other, questions in their eyes, and just shrugged. Neither of them had answers to their questions – only Lorelai did._

* * *

_As dinner went on, Lorelai and Jason continued to flirt without alerting Emily or Richard, and Rory and Winter just sat quietly and watched the interaction between the two of them._

_When it was time for the girls to go, Jason said that he needed to go as well and the four of them found themselves walking side by side down the driveway._

_"Hey, why don't you guys go ahead to the car?" Lorelai said after a moment. The twins gave her a knowing look and said, at the same time, "Sure."_

_**Thank you,** Lorelai thanked them silently with her eyes and she smiled, before turning her attention to the man beside her._

_"Well, well, well. Lorelai Gilmore, you sure grew up good," Jason said charmingly, turning to face her with a smile._

_**Ha! I knew he was looking,** Lorelai thought smugly._

_"You're no slouch yourself," she responded, looking him over for the twentieth time that night. And, at 6 ft. tall, he really wasn't._

_His smile grew a bit wider and he asked, in a tone as if shocked, "Are you flirting with me?"_

_**FINALLY. Someone who gets it.**_

_"I don't know. What do you think?" Lorelai responded teasingly, her eyes sparkling invitingly at him._

_"I think I want to take you out. Tomorrow?" he asked hopefully, his darker-than-normal eyes revealing his obvious attraction and desire for her._

_"Hmm… I don't know… It depends on where you take me," Lorelai said, pretending to think about it, but knowing that she would go._

_"And if I said it was a surprise?" Jason asked, playing along, delighted by her response._

_"Well, it's a good thing I like surprises, then," Lorelai said, walking over to the driver's side door of her car._

_"7 o'clock sound good?" Jason called after her._

_"Perfect. Oh, and be late," she said, smiling, and got in her car before he could respond._

_**Huh. Who knew that I would actually be glad to have had dinner at my mother's house for once?** Lorelai mused, satisfied with the outcome of the night._

_"Mom!" Winter's voice startled her out of her thoughts._

_"Huh?" she asked distractedly._

_"Are we going, or are we gonna camp out in the car in Grandma's driveway all night?" Rory asked sarcastically, knowing that her mother was thinking about Jason._

_"Well… that **does** sound pretty tempting…" Lorelai trailed off playfully. "Mom!" the twins shouted, unable to hold back their grins. "Okay, okay. We're out of here," Lorelai said, before driving off._

* * *

_Saturday morning and early afternoon passed quickly, and the late afternoon was spent readying Lorelai for her date with Jason. Outfits were tried on, discarded, and scattered around Lorelai's room chaotically. However, once 7 o'clock arrived, Lorelai had settled on stunning little black dress and knee-high black leather boots._

_As per Lorelai's request, Jason didn't show up until 7:20 – even if he didn't fully understand why. As he pulled up to the house, Lorelai was giving her daughters their final instructions._

_"Okay, let's see. What else? I will not be back until late, probably, so that gives you plenty of time to clean up at least some of the mess from the huge party that I am sure will commence as soon as I am gone. There is pizza/Luke's money on the table… And I think that's it. You'll be okay?" Lorelai asked, grabbing her purse as she heard Jason's car stop out front._

_"Well, I think we should be good as long as you give us a half-hour heads up so that we can kick everyone out and stuff everything in the closet," Winter quipped as Rory grinned by her side._

_"Ah, good luck with that. I got it," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes and going to answer the door. "Perfectly late," she complimented as she opened the door to reveal Jason standing there._

_"Well, it would be appalling to be on time, now wouldn't it," he replied, teasing her, and Lorelai grinned._

_"Okay, we should go. Don't wait up," Lorelai said, turning to give her daughters a quick wink before walking out the door._

_"Hey, Jason. Word of advice. Make sure she gets plenty to eat, or she'll be cranky," Rory advised him, completely serious._

_Jason smiled. "I think I got it covered. I'll even make sure she has enough to bring some home. You guys have a good night," he said before going to open Lorelai's door for her._

_The twins grinned. "'Bye, Jason," they said in unison before shutting the door._

* * *

_Jason ended up taking her to an incredible little Italian restaurant in Hartford and, as promised, made sure that she got something to take home. Then, they drove back to Jason's place and they talked for hours. Lorelai was surprised that nothing happened, but nothing did. They just talked until it started getting late, and Jason drove her home._

_"This was really nice, Jason. Thank you," Lorelai said sincerely, as they stopped in front of her house._

_Jason smiled. "I'm glad you liked it. Do you think that we could do it again? Maybe on Tuesday?" he asked as they crossed the yard and walked up the porch steps._

_She turned and smiled at him. **God, he's gorgeous,** Lorelai thought, examining him once more. "I'd like that," she said softly._

_"Good, I'll call you," he said, equally softly, before leaning forward to kiss her._

_**Oh, God, he's good at this…** Lorelai's thoughts quickly became incoherent as the kiss, already filled with so much passion and attraction, heated up even more. Jason slid his tongue lightly across her bottom lip, asking for entrance, which she quickly granted with a soft moan. They continued uninterrupted for an interminable time before Lorelai's thoughts cleared enough for her to realize that she needed to go inside. "Mm…Jason. I have to go," Lorelai said softly, reluctantly pulling away._

_"It's okay. I should go to, and the girls are probably waiting for you inside," he said with equal reluctance, but understanding. "I'll call you, tomorrow," he said, walking back to his car. "Goodnight, Lorelai."_

_Lorelai smiled. "Goodnight, Jason," she responded before going in and shutting the door. She walked into the living room and saw the girls sleeping, one on each side, on the couch. As she began to walk quietly up the stairs, she heard a voice behind her._

_"Hey. Did you have a good time?" Winter asked sleepily._

_"Yeah, I did have a **really** good time," Lorelai smiled, her eyes shimmering._

_Rory smiled back at her. "You look happy," she noted, pleased._

_"I am, kid, I am," Lorelai told her truthfully, going back down the steps to kiss each of her girls on the forehead. "You guys staying here?"_

_The twins yawned and murmured, "Yep," closing their eyes once more and quickly falling back asleep._

_She watched them sleep for a moment before making her way upstairs and into her room. Lorelai sighed happily, collapsing on her bed after changing into her pajamas. **Huh. I think this is actually gonna work out pretty well…** she thought tiredly, quickly falling asleep, a small smile of contentment on her face. Unfortunately, things weren't going to go nearly as well as she thought they were…_

_**To Be Continued.**_

_**A/N: Okay, before you get upset with me for putting Lorelai with Jason, rest assured that it is a temporary placement. I will probably start getting rid of him in the next chapter. I really just needed to put this chapter in to help lead into the Lorelai/Luke relationship and another major part of the story that will be coming up soon. Hope you liked it even though Jason was there. Leave me a review letting me know what you think! :D**_


	8. Mom! Mom?

_Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls, but I would gladly sell everything that I own and live in a cardboard box if I could have the rights to them._

_A/N: I know it's been a couple days since I updated. I've just been really busy. Sorry! :D Thanks for the reviews guys; I'm glad you like the story so far. Anyway, in this chapter, Lorelai and Jason have been dating for about 3 months, and Lorelai long ago discovered Jason's little quirk of not being able to actually sleep in the same bed with another person (*wink wink*). Everything has been going really well for the two, and this chapter picks up with Jason dropping Lorelai off after their date. Rory and Winter are at Lane's for the night, so the house is empty… right? Wrong… Enjoy! :D_

_**Warning: This chapter contains mention of attack and rape – nothing too graphic, just a warning.**_

_**Chapter Eight: Mom! Mom?**_

_Lorelai_

_"I had a really great time, tonight," Lorelai said softly, turning as they reached the door._

_"I'm glad," Jason replied just as softly, leaning forward to kiss her gently. "I'll see you on Monday?"_

_"Definitely. Night, Jason," she said, watching as he walked back to his car._

_"Night, Lorelai," he responded, grinning, and got into his car before driving off._

_Lorelai smiled softly before going into the house, not noticing the motorcycle parked in the shadows by her garage, and completely unaware that someone was waiting for her inside. She walked into the living room before heading towards the kitchen, surprised to see light pouring into the hall from that direction. "Rory, Winter?" she called curiously – the girls were supposed to be staying at Lane's tonight._

_"Nope, sorry it's just me," he said solemnly, sitting at the kitchen table with a half-hearted grin on his face._

_"Christopher!" Lorelai said, surprised at his presence in her house. "What are you doing here?"_

_"Just thought I'd come and pay a visit to my girls. So, who was the guy?" Christopher quickly changed the subject, a slightly jealous and aggravated note creeping into his voice._

_"What? Oh, that was Jason," she said, somewhat confused by Christopher's tone._

_"What is he your boyfriend or something?" he asked rudely, standing up slowly until he reached his full height of 6'1._

_"Not that it's any of your business, but yeah, he is my boyfriend," she replied, annoyed, and walked casually into the living room and turned on the lights, suddenly feeling a strong urge to be a little farther away from Christopher._

_He followed her quickly. "Well, seeing as we have two kids together, I think it is my business," he stated, becoming angry. "You dating that guy affects their lives, too, and that makes it my business."_

_"Christopher! What is your problem?" she yelled, becoming fed up with his suddenly angry and possessive attitude. **What is wrong with him?**_

_"He's my problem! Rory and Winter are my daughters, not his! You are mine," Christopher said possessively, walking slowly towards Lorelai, making her back up until she found herself standing on the first step on the staircase that led up to hers and Winter's rooms._

_"Christopher! You need to back off! I am not yours! Christopher…" she said warningly as he continued forward. It was meant to come out forcefully, but when she saw that glint of cold anger and possessiveness in his eyes she couldn't stop fear from flooding her body and making her back slowly up the stairs as he continued to move forward._

_"No! **You are mine, not his. And if I want you then I'm gonna have you**," he enunciated angrily and suddenly sped his movement, rushing forward and picking Lorelai up before she could react._

_"Christopher! Put… me…down!" she yelled, each word punctuated by her suddenly panicked struggles as she tried to break free. But he ignored her words, carrying her swiftly up the stairs and into her room. He slammed the door with his foot and dropped her on the bed, immediately falling heavily on top of her and pinning her with his heavier body._

_"Chris" she tried again, panicked, struggling to get him off of her, but he cut her off with a hard slap to the side of her face before covering her mouth with his hand._

_"If you're not quiet, you just might force me to use this," he said dangerously, pulling a long pocket knife from his jeans pocket and flicking it open._

_At this point, Lorelai was so panicked that, upon seeing the knife, she immediately began to struggle even harder and tried to get his hand off of her mouth so that she could scream._

_"I warned you," he said maliciously and make a quick, but deep, slash across the top of her shoulder. He grinned when she cried out from the pain, her voice still muffled by his hand. He could feel his anticipation rising – she was his – and he quickly stripped the two of them of their clothes. And, no matter how much she struggled, Lorelai couldn't stop him. She could only cry out in pain as he held her down and violated her, over and over and over again._

* * *

_When he was done, Lorelai, by now lost in a haze of tears and shock and pain, knew that she was bleeding both from when he had forced his way into her and from the numerous cuts that he had made down her body using his knife. He had gotten up and pulled on his clothes, but she had been unable to make herself move and she flinched when he leaned down to whisper in her ear._

_"If you tell anyone about this… I'll kill you. And them," he said softly and Lorelai began to cry even harder. She didn't have to ask who 'they' were. She already knew that he was talking about Rory and Winter, so she nodded quickly. No matter what it cost her, she couldn't let him hurt them._

_He laughed once, walking towards the door, and, as his parting shot, called back to her, "Congratulations, Lor. You're even better now than when we were sixteen."_

_Lorelai trembled at the sound of his voice and couldn't find the strength to respond. **Oh, god… What am I going to do?** She thought, terrified and in more pain than she could ever have imagined it was possible to be in. The need to cover herself hit her suddenly and she forced herself get off of the bed, leaving behind large amounts of her blood, and grab an old blanket from the closet, before sinking slowly onto the floor, unable to find the willpower to clean herself up or do anything else. All she could do was sit there, tears streaming silently down her face, her body slowly becoming numb as she continued to, slowly but surely, lose more and more blood._

* * *

_Winter_

_"It's too bad that Lane got sick," Rory said and Winter nodded. It was around 2 o'clock in the morning and they were almost back to their house. Lane had started feeling sick and the twins had offered to head home so that Mrs. Kim could take care of her. Now they were walking up the front steps of their house._

_When they went inside they were surprised to see that the lights in both the kitchen and the living room were on, although there was no one there. "Do you think Mom's still up?" Winter asked, surprised._

_"I don't know. Mom?" Rory called as they walked into the kitchen. "Huh, maybe she's upstairs."_

_They headed up the stairs, by now starting to get a bad feeling in their stomachs when they received no answer from their mother. They walked towards Lorelai's room and glanced at each other when they found that it was open – their mother always closed her door when she went to bed._

_"Mom! Mom?" Winter yelled the first time, but, at the scene that greeted her as she and Rory walked into the room, barely whispered the second time._

_The comforter and top sheet of Lorelai's bed lay on the floor haphazardly – along with Lorelai's now torn and ripped clothes. And the fitted sheet that still remained on the bed was still wet with large amounts of blood and was cut in several places. Both of the twins gasped in horror as they began to realize what had happened here. And that's when they heard it._

_**Oh, god…** was Winter's only thought as she turned, hearing a small sniffle, and finally located her mother._

_Lorelai was sitting, as she had for the past half-hour, wrapped in an old blanket, huddled into a ball in the corner, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees over the blanket, and with her forehead resting on top of her arms; she didn't appear to have heard the twins' calls from downstairs or their entrance into her bedroom._

_"Mommy…" Rory and Winter whispered at the same time, approaching Lorelai slowly, suddenly sounding like they were five years old again; Lorelai didn't hear them._

_Winter slowly reached out, not letting go of Rory's hand, and touched her mother's shoulder, knowing that Rory wouldn't be able to make herself do it. Even though she had been careful to touch her as gently as possible, Lorelai flinched when Winter touched her but she finally raised her head to see her daughters standing there, looking hurt and afraid._

_The twins could see Lorelai relax slightly when she saw that it was them and not whoever had done this to her. "Mommy…" Rory tried to speak but began to cry instead, just as Winter also began crying softly._

_When she had first looked up, Lorelai's eyes had been filled with fear and pain, but now, seeing her daughters crying, they were filled with love, too. "Shh… Come here," she said softly, reaching out her arms, and the twins each tucked themselves quickly but gently into her sides as she held them._

_After the twins' cries had subsided for the most part, Lorelai spoke softly, her voice weak but still full of the love that she had for her daughters. "Babes, Mommy's not doing too good right now."_

_Rory and Winter both looked up in alarm at her words, panic written all over their faces._

_"I need you to go downstairs and call an ambulance, okay? Shh… it's okay. I'll be okay, I just can't drive right now and as upset as the two of you are I don't want either of you driving either, okay?" Lorelai asked gently, knowing that what she was saying was true. The twins both nodded. "Okay, now, Rory, I want you to go call the ambulance, and Winter, I need you to help me stand up so that I can get dressed and then I need both of you to help me go down the stairs, okay?" Lorelai said and the girls immediately nodded._

_Rory went downstairs to call the ambulance and Winter stood, waiting for her mother to be ready. When she saw Lorelai take a deep breath and reach out one of her hands, she gently grasped it in her own and slowly helped her pull herself up while holding the blanket that was the only thing covering her in place._

_Lorelai gasped quietly in pain and saw her daughter's eyes fill once more with fear. "Hey, shh… it's okay," she reassured her softly and Winter nodded. "Come on, I'll get dressed __and we can go downstairs."_

* * *

_After Lorelai was dressed in the softest, most loose-fitting clothes that she had, and the twins had helped her downstairs it wasn't long before the ambulance arrived. Everything was a blur as Lorelai was loaded into the back of the ambulance and the twins climbed in to squish as close to her as possible. They had to force themselves into a space only big enough for one person just to make the EMTs let both of them ride in the ambulance, but they didn't care. They just couldn't stand the idea of ever letting their mother out of their sight again._

_Lorelai faded into unconsciousness several times throughout the ride and each time she woke up she would panic until she caught and held her daughters' eyes._

_When they reached the hospital, Rory and Winter ran next to Lorelai as she was wheeled through the different hallways, holding tightly to one of her arms. Lorelai was unconscious at the moment and they wheeled her into one of the Emergency examination rooms. At first the doctors and nurses tried to make the girls leave the room, but eventually they caved and allowed them to stay. However, when the time came, they steadfastly refused to allow them into the room where Lorelai would have her surgery, telling them that the best that they could do was allow them to wait outside the door._

_The twins held each other, sinking down against the wall to sit on the floor. They didn't cry, they didn't do anything but sit there, unmoving, for an interminable time until their mother was finally wheeled through the door. The moment that they saw her they were up, resuming their hold on her arm as they blindly followed the doctor into one of the private recovery rooms and hooked into and IV and a heart-rate monitor._

_They stood next to her, both holding the same hand, unable to let go of each other. They stood next to her for a surprisingly short time before they felt Lorelai slowly squeeze both of their hands in hers. A moment later, her eyelids slowly flickered open._

_"Hey," she said softly, and both girls began crying with relief. "Hey, don't cry. Come here," she said quietly, and slowly reached out with her right hand to pull on Winter's left._

_Winter understood what her mother wanted and walked quickly around the bed to stand on her mother's right side._

_Once she had a girl on each side of her, Lorelai slowly but firmly pulled the two of them down onto the wide bed on either side of her. They curled up against her sides with relief. Lorelai's arms wrapped around their shoulders as they rested their heads gently on her chest while holding onto her as tightly as they dared._

_The twins continued to cry silently, as did Lorelai, and Lorelai held them close to her. Drowsiness soon began to creep over the three of them, though they fought it, and Lorelai whispered to them, "Shh… it's okay, now. Go to sleep."_

_"I love you, Mommy…" Rory and Winter whispered back as they all fell into a deep, if not peaceful, and weary sleep._

_**To Be Continued.**_

_**A/N: Okay, so I know that this chapter was kind of dark, but from this darkness will soon come the light of the Lorelai/Luke relationship. Let me know what you think, whether it's good or bad. I know that this topic is extremely controversial, which is why it took so long and was so hard to write, so I expect that I will more than likely get some negative reviews for this chapter. That's okay, but know that I have some personal experience with this topic and fully intend to treat it with all of the respect that it deserves. Okay, you know the drill. Leave me a review.**_


	9. Chris It Was Christopher

_Disclaimer: If I owned Gilmore Girls we would have a Gilmore Girls movie by now…_

_A/N: I'm back! So I felt really encouraged by all of the reviews, thanks guys! :D And now, as promised, I will begin putting Lorelai and Luke together. Personally, I thought it would be a good twist to have Chris be the one to attack Lorelai and I will deal with him soon. Hope you like the new chapter! Read, Rejoice, and Review please! :P_

_**Chapter Nine: Chris… It Was Christopher**_

_Rory_

_Rory woke and, before she even opened her eyes, was immediately filled with a deep mix of worry, fear, concern, and above all panic. But there was also some confusion because, at first, she couldn't remember what had happened to make her feel so… **broken** inside. And then she remembered, and she had to open her eyes to rid herself of the images: her mother's bed bloodied and torn; her mother – HER mother, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore – broken and bleeding._

_When Rory opened her eyes, she was greeted by the small recovery room that her mother had been brought to before the three girls had fallen into an exhausted sleep. Turning her head slightly from where it was resting carefully on her mother's chest, she could see Winter performing a similar action._

_After meeting each other's eyes and both seeing all of their own worry, fear, and pain reflected back at them, and taking a moment to assess Lorelai's own pained but still sleeping form, they carefully slid out of bed. Once they had each taken a moment to use the restroom, they quickly returned to their mother's side, uneasy at the thought of being separated from her for even a moment longer than was necessary._

_They had hoped to accomplish their tasks without disturbing their mom, but as they approached the bed Lorelai began to stir. At first, they thought that she was just waking up. But she didn't open her eyes. She just began to toss back and forth, her breathing quickening, and she began to whimper quietly._

_"No…don't…" they heard, and then they thought they heard her whisper a name but it wasn't possible. It couldn't be…_

_"Did she just say…" Rory barely whispered, feeling as if she was falling into an abyss at hearing Lorelai say THAT particular name when she was clearly having a nightmare about the attack._

_**No, it can't be…**_

_"I – I think she did," was Winter's whispered and equally shocked reply._

_**No… He wouldn't…** Rory tried to deny what she had heard, too horrified and sickened at even the thought that she could practically feel her world crumbling around her. But, at her mom's next words, she couldn't deny it any longer._

_"No… Chris, don't!" Lorelai suddenly jerked awake, sitting up too quickly for her severely injured body, and cried out quietly in pain; her eyes clenched shut and her hands gripped the bed beneath her tightly in her grasp. Once the pain had lessened considerably, she slowly reopened her eyes to see her daughters standing there with panicked, fearful looks on their faces and she hurried to reassure them. "Hey, it's okay. I just sat up a little too fast," she said gently, once more reigning in her own turbulent emotions to take care of her girls._

_The twins both breathed an audible sigh of relief at Lorelai's words. "Mommy…" Winter said softly, using the endearment that she had given up years ago for the more mature "Mom" automatically and without conscious thought._

_"Shh… Come here, both of you," Lorelai said, slowly sliding back down to her half-sitting up position, and the girls reclaimed their places cuddling into each of her sides as she began slowly stroking their shoulders soothingly._

_"Mom, can – can I ask you something?" Rory asked hesitantly, needing to know the answer, but afraid of what that answer might be and, even more, afraid of upsetting her mother even more._

_"Of course, you can ask me anything," Lorelai stated, looking at Rory with concern reflected clearly in her eyes._

_**After all that she's been through… I should be more surprised that she can still find the strength to worry about me, but I'm not. It's just so… Mom, so Lorelai,** Rory thought ruefully, and not without exponential amounts of gratitude for the way that her mother always took care of and protected her and her sister before she would worry about herself._

_Rory hesitated again. "No, it's okay. Forget I asked," she said, not wanting to cause Lorelai any more pain._

_"Rory, ask me," Lorelai commanded, looking into her daughter's worried eyes._

_"Mom," Rory began softly, "who did this to you?"_

_The moment that Rory uttered that first word – "who" – she had immediately felt Lorelai's body become rigid and her mother began shivering gently despite the warm blankets draped over the three girls._

_"I – I can't tell you," Lorelai replied softly, regretfully, and with true fear evident in her voice._

_The twins could hear the fear, pain; reluctance in her voice and glanced at each other as they both were forced to accept the horrifying truth. "Mom… it's okay. We already know," Winter began quietly and Lorelai looked at her in shock. "You were having a nightmare before you woke up. You were… talking in your sleep. We just," Rory continued for her sister, "need to know," they both completed, looking mournfully and apologetically at Lorelai, who was staring at them with horror and shock written all over her face and in her eyes._

_She took a deep breath before haltingly, in a small broken voice, confirming for her daughters what they already knew but needed her to repeat, "C – Chris… It was Christopher."_

* * *

_Lorelai_

_"C – Chris… It was Christopher," Lorelai forced herself to reply to her daughters' pleas. As much it scared and pained her, she knew that she had to tell them – and besides, apparently she had already told them while she had been sleeping._

_Seeing their silent tears but knowing that nothing she could say right now would reassure them, Lorelai just held her daughters close until long after their tears – and her own – had stopped. They let the silence wash over them, each lost in their own thoughts, knowing that all they could do was try to be there for each other and wishing that someone, anyone would come and save them from the living hell that their lives had suddenly become._

_Lorelai had her head laying on Winter's shoulder when she heard the door open and automatically flinched, holding her daughters closer. Rory turned her head to see who it was and then leaned back down to whisper in her mom's ear._

_"Mom, it's the doctor," she said quietly, trying to calm her mother who had tensed when the door opened._

_Lorelai took a deep breath. **It's not him. It's just the doctor,** she told herself firmly and lifted her head to look at the older man holding a clip board and waiting for her to look up._

_He smiled kindly. "I'm Dr. Snow," he said calmly and Lorelai felt an immediate sense of trust at his demeanor and, more importantly, his name – even her injured and disoriented state she still retained her deep love of snow and the fact that "Snow" was the doctor's last name made Lorelai feel at ease with him – even if he was a man._

_"Hi," she said softly, sitting up just a little bit straighter, and Dr. Snow smiled once more before his expression became more serious._

_"I'm afraid we're going to have to talk about some rather difficult things. Perhaps your daughters should step out of the room for a moment?" he suggested carefully, but leaving the decision up to her._

_She looked at Rory and Winter. She knew what the doctor wanted to talk about and, although she didn't want her daughters to have to hear this, she knew that they would make her tell them later anyway. She could tell from the way that they looked at her stubbornly, silently pleading with her to let them stay, and she wanted them there, too. She didn't ever want to let them go again, so she took a deep breath and turned back to the doctor. "It's okay, they can stay," she said, pulling them closer to her even though it hurt._

_"Okay," Dr. Snow acknowledged her decision before launching into a discussion about STDs, AIDs, HIV, and the other possible repercussions of her attack. Throughout the doctor's speech Rory and Winter clung tightly to Lorelai, crying silently, and would flinch each time the doctor mentioned another possible danger. Lorelai just held her daughters while tears of sorrow and fear slipped silently down her cheeks. Once the doctor was finished he left the room, saying that he would be back to check on Lorelai in a few hours._

_"Hey, are you guys okay?" Lorelai asked softly as soon as the door to her room was shut._

_Both twins wore identical frowns. "What if… what if we lose you?" Winter ignored her mother's question and asked one of her own. "Yeah, what if you get sick?" Rory added worriedly as they both looked at Lorelai fearfully._

_"Hey, shh… You're not gonna lose me. I'm not going anywhere, okay?" she said firmly, looking them in the eyes, and they nodded uncertainly. "No matter what happens, we're gonna get through this together."_

_They just held each other for a while, drawing on each other's strength until Lorelai looked around slowly, trying not to trigger any more pain than she was already in. "What time is it?"_

_Rory looked down at her watch. "It's about 8:30 in the morning," she said, surprised that it had only been a few hours since they had arrived at the hospital._

_"Which means we only slept for about two hours," Winter complained, sounding just like Lorelai, making her mom smile._

_"Alright, let's just try and sleep for a while, okay?" Lorelai asked, sliding the three of them back down, and Rory and Winter snuggled closer to Lorelai each murmuring "I love you" and fading back into sleep._

_She smiled softly at the feeling of holding her daughters so close like this, in a way that she hadn't held them both at the same time in years since they were little. "Goodnight, babes," she whispered, kissing them both on the top of the head before resting her chin on top of Winter's head and joining them in sleep._

* * *

_Luke_

_"Luuuuke!"_

_Luke turned from behind the counter at the sound of the voice – the first voice that he had heard all morning. No one had come into the diner today, not even Lorelai, Rory, and Winter. While the first puzzled him, the second genuinely worried him. The only reason that the Gilmore Girls wouldn't come in was if they were mad at him or if something was very, very wrong. And as far as he knew he hadn't done anything to make them mad even by their insane rules and standards, which made him worry even more._

_"Babette!" Luke exclaimed, surprised, as the woman burst into the diner panting._

_"Luke! What are ya doin' here?" she asked breathlessly, staring at him._

_"What do you mean, what am I doing here? Where else would I be?" he asked confusedly. "Hey, have you seen Lorelai and the girls this morning? They never came in for breakfast."_

_"Oh, honey. Haven't you heard?" she asked, looking concerned._

_"Heard what?" he asked, beginning to get a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach._

_"Oh, doll… Lorelai's in the hospital. The ambulance came and got her sometime early this morning and Rory and Winter rode in the back with her," she hesitated before telling him the heartbreaking news. "I don't know why she went to the hospital, but she hasn't been back yet so…" Luke never heard the rest of what Babette said, as he had already run out the door and jumped in his truck._

_**No. Not her. I cannot lose her, too,** Luke thought worriedly, images of dark hair, fair skin, and sparkling lavender-blue eyes running through his mind. **I can't lose her… Not before I have a chance to tell her that I – I love her.** Luke's eyes went wide. It was the first that time that he had ever even admitted to himself the depth of his feelings for the beautiful brunette. Hell, it was the first time that he had admitted that he loved anyone. Hoping that he wasn't too late he gunned the engine and took off in the direction of Hartford Memorial Hospital, in the direction of the woman he loved._

* * *

_Once Luke arrived at the hospital, he hurried inside and threw a fit that would have made Lorelai Gilmore proud at the nearest nurse's station before the nurse finally gave him Lorelai's room number, although she wouldn't tell him what had happened or how she was doing. After that he literally ran through all of the seemingly endless hallways full of doors and numbers and signs, until he finally found himself standing before the one that he was looking for._

_**Lorelai…** he thought, and took a deep breath before raising his hand to knock on the wooden door. Before he could, however, a voice coming from behind him interrupted him._

_"Luke?" Winter asked hesitantly, hard to believe that he was really here. She didn't know why she was surprised, though. Luke was always there when they needed him. She felt a small wave of relief wash over her that he had come but still afraid of all the things that could happen to her mom, and a worried frown passed over her face._

_"Winter," Luke greeted her, surprised but glad that he wouldn't have to awkwardly knock on the door but concerned when he saw the expression on her face. "Are you okay? How's Lorelai doing? Do you need anything?" he asked rapidly, stepping forward to give her a hug._

_"Don't!" Winter exclaimed suddenly, backing away from Luke in fear. She couldn't bear the thought of him touching her, of anyone except for Lorelai and Rory touching her actually and especially not a man, after what had happened to Lorelai the night before._

_Luke immediately froze at Winter's proclamation. He felt confusion wash over him. Why wouldn't she let him hug her? "Okay, it's okay. I'm staying over here, alright?" he asked, backing away and making sure to keep his voice calm and quiet._

_"Sorry. I don't know what came over me," she lied. She knew exactly why she didn't want him touching her; she just didn't know how to explain it to him. "Hey, uh… do you want to come in and see Mom and Rory?" she asked hesitantly, unsure of what her mother's reaction would be to seeing Luke._

_"Yes, please," he pleaded eagerly, his eyes and face once more revealing how concerned he was._

_Before Winter opened the door, she turned quickly to face Luke. "You have to promise me something. Promise me that you'll do whatever she says and that you won't come too close the bed and that you won't try to touch her at all. And if she tells you to leave, then you have to leave, okay?" she said quickly and firmly, staring hard at him._

_Even though he was confused Luke quickly agreed to Winter's demands. He would agree to sell everything he owned and become a circus acrobat if it meant that he could see Lorelai._

_Winter nodded before turning back around and slowly opening the door. "Mom? It's me, and uh… and Luke is here to see you, too," she said carefully, going and sliding back down onto the bed and cuddling up to Lorelai's back as she spoke._

_Luke only had eyes for Lorelai as soon as the door opened and he cautiously followed Winter into the room, careful not to get too close to the bed. When they had entered Lorelai was turned on her side and had her head lying on the pillow while Rory's head lay on her shoulder. At first she seemed fine… until Winter got to the part about Luke. Luke saw the way that Lorelai stiffened and began to tremble slightly at the sound of his name. And he didn't understand it._

_He looked to Rory, who had opened her eyes and turned her head to look at him, for help. She mouthed 'Wait' at him, before the two girls held their mother a little closer and began whispering to her soothingly._

_He took Rory's advice and waited for Lorelai to calm down. He would let her make the first move. He didn't know what was wrong with her but he sure as hell wasn't going to do anything to make whatever it was worse. Although, he had this relentless sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him that he knew exactly what had happened and why Winter had made him promise not to come too close or touch Lorelai… He just didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be. It couldn't…_

_Luke waited worriedly for some time before Lorelai finally stopped trembling and her breathing evened out, and she gave a deep sigh. He held his breath as she slowly turned onto her back and hesitantly turned her head to face him._

_"Luke," she acknowledged his presence quietly, raising her eyes to look at him._

_And what he saw in her eyes – it was enough to break him right then and there. Those eyes which before had always sparkled and shone bright lavender-blue with determination, confidence, mischief, joy, love, happiness, fun, and a thousand other emotions when she was happy. Those eyes which, when they argued, had turned an electric, dangerously stormy blue-grey and flickered with anger, stubbornness, fearlessness, warning, and danger. Those eyes which now were dark with trepidation, worry, anger, hesitation; fear. As bad as it was and as much as he wished she didn't have to feel any of those things – that wasn't what hit him the hardest… He could see it in her eyes. She looked… **shattered**… and it broke his own heart to see her look so broken._

_He observed all of this in the blink of an eye before realizing that she had spoken to him and he hurried to respond. "H-Hi," he stuttered lamely. "Lorelai, are – are you okay? Is there anything that you need, anything that I can get for you? I could get you some coffee. Yeah, I'll go and get you some coffee," he rushed the words out, afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing, and walked towards the door._

_"Don't…" he heard Lorelai's panicked plea from behind him. He turned around to face her. He could see the fear that still resided in her eyes as she looked at him – fear of **him**, and, while he would love nothing more than to stay here with her and be there for her, he hesitated. "Are you sure?" he asked carefully, in his mind begging her to say yes._

_He could see the momentary hesitation in her eyes as she looked at him before a little – just a little but at least it was a start – of the fear left her eyes, and she responded softly, "I'm sure. Just… stay. Please."_

_Luke immediately nodded and went to sit on the one chair in the room, making sure that it was a respectable distance from the bed, and gave a small smile, happy that Lorelai wanted him there but still worried about her. She seemed to pick up on his conflicted feelings and said, "I know we need to talk, just… not right now, okay?" When he nodded again she gave him the barest of smiles and closed her eyes as the girls snuggled closer to her, resting their heads on her chest, and murmured drowsily, "Goodnight, Luke."_

_Luke smiled once more. "Goodnight, Lorelai," he responded softly, knowing that she was already asleep, and settling himself more comfortably in his chair. He was going to sit here and watch over her until she told him to leave. He was going to make sure that no one else had the opportunity to hurt her, Rory, or Winter. He was going to protect his family, he thought to himself firmly, watching over them protectively and lovingly as they slept on, oblivious to his renewed and reinforced commitment to them, to his girls… His sweet, beautiful, perfect Gilmore Girls…_

_**To Be Continued.**_

_**A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long to write. I have no excuse other than that I've been busy, but I finally got it posted. :) And there you have it, the unofficial start of Lorelai and Luke's relationship – Jason will be taken care of in the next chapter. There will also be more speculation about the situation with Christopher in the next chapter. So, how did I do? Leave me a review and let me know – it really inspires me to keep the story going! :D**_


	10. Goddess

_Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls belongs to Amy Sherman-Palladino, but I'm still holding out hope that one day she'll show up and present them to me…_

_A/N: I'm really glad that you guys seem to be enjoying the story! :D Thanks to all my awesome reviewers/followers – you guys inspire me! :P So, to show my gratitude, here's the next chapter. Enjoy! :)_

_**Chapter Ten: Goddess**_

_Winter_

_When Winter woke she was facing away from her mom, although still lying pressed close to her side, and as she opened her eyes she was surprised to see a man asleep on the uncomfortable-looking chair that was a short distance from the bed. Her sleep-fogged brain panicked for a moment at the proximity of the man to Lorelai, and more importantly Lorelai's **bed**, until the adrenaline coursing through her veins woke her up enough that she recognized Luke and immediately relaxed. She should have known that Luke would still be there in the morning. Everyone knew how much Luke cared about Lorelai, Rory, and Winter so she knew that he wouldn't move from that spot until he was certain that Lorelai was safe and would be okay._

_Winter was jerked from her thoughts when she heard and felt Rory stirring beside her. The noise that she made as she woke also stirred Luke from his own uneasy slumber. All three of them glanced at each other for a moment in silent camaraderie until they heard a small whimper from the middle of the bed. All eyes immediately went to Lorelai, whose breathing had quickened, and they saw the pained expression on her face. Unlike the last time that they woke, Rory and Winter weren't stunned into immobility and they immediately held onto their mother gently and began whispering into her ears. They spoke softly, reassuringly and after a moment Lorelai woke with a small gasp before holding onto the twins and clenching her eyes shut._

_After a moment Lorelai calmed down and loosened her grip on Rory and Winter, slowly opening her eyes and whispering a quick "thanks" to her daughters. When she saw Luke, Lorelai froze but didn't tremble the way that she had the day before and Winter cheered silently at this marked improvement._

_The two adults locked eyes for a moment, Luke waiting for Lorelai to feel more comfortable and make the first move and Lorelai slowly pushing back her fear of Luke and finding that while it was still difficult it wasn't quite as hard as it had been before._

_Once she had calmed down enough, Lorelai even gave him a small, weary smile, making the other three occupants of the room smile in genuine happiness at her action. "Hey," she said softly, her eyes still showing her uncertainty but with the barest hint of that elusive something that was supremely **Lorelai**._

_"Hey. How are you feeling? Do you want something to eat, 'cause I can go and grab something for you if you want," Luke offered quickly, eager to do anything she said and help her in any way that he possibly could._

_Lorelai shook her head, a bit of trepidation entering her eyes. "I – I think we need to talk… Girls, why don't you go downstairs and grab us something to eat, okay?" Lorelai asked them hesitantly. Fear and worry immediately showed on their faces and Lorelai understood their concern. "Shh… It's okay, I'll be right here when you come back, okay? And Luke will be here to protect me, alright?" she reassured them and, after looking to Luke and seeing his emphatic nod at their unspoken question, nodded._

_"We'll be right back," Winter said as both girls kissed their mom on the cheek and walked to the door._

_When they reached the door, they both turned back. "If anything happens to her, you're gonna answer to us," Rory said seriously, that same danger that could occasionally be found in Lorelai's eyes if you pissed her off enough showing clearly in Rory's sky blue eyes. Both twins looked firmly at him until he nodded solemnly, and then they left the room hurrying down the hall, eager to get back to their mom even if Luke **was** there to watch over her._

_**He'll keep her safe, he'll keep her safe,** Winter repeated to herself trying to stay calm. **Still… better hurry just in case,** she thought, looking to her twin as they paused for a moment both thinking the same thing. They looked at each other for a moment before nodding and further hastening down the hall._

* * *

_Luke_

_Luke looked over at Lorelai once the door was shut. She had said that they needed to talk and they did need to, but he could see that it clearly made her nervous. "Lorelai, it's okay. Just take your time. We can wait until whenever you're ready," he said sincerely, trying for a calm soothing tone of voice._

_She smiled at him, just a little, and shook her head. "No. Thank you, Luke, but I want – I need – to do this now, while Rory and Winter aren't in here," she said firmly, and for a moment a bit of that familiar strength and stubbornness flickered through her beautiful, haunted eyes. "I know that you've wanted to ask, so go ahead. It's okay." Lorelai nodded reassuringly at him as he hesitated, afraid to ask his question, afraid of the answer that she would give._

_"Lorelai…" he began and his whole being at once rejoiced and cried out in sorrow at the feeling of saying her name. "What happened to you? How did you end up here?" he forced himself to say the words; they burned coming out of his mouth._

_Lorelai quickly closed her eyes and took a deep breath. After a moment she opened them again and looked at Luke, just looked at him. He could the struggle going on within her; he could see all of the fear, pain, anger, and worry battling against the desire to tell him, to trust him._

_"It's okay, Lorelai. You can tell me anything, I promise," he said softly, completely sincere. Nothing that she could possibly say could make him turn away from her._

_She looked into his eyes and took another deep breath before reaching out her hand to him. "It's okay, Luke. Come here," she invited quietly when he hesitated. He didn't need any more encouragement as he stood and went to kneel by the bed, holding her hand firmly, but still gently, within his own._

_Lorelai took a shuddering breath before looking deep into Luke's eyes and somehow finding the strength to tell him. "Luke, I was beaten and raped," she said, the pain returning full force in her eyes._

_Luke felt his heart stop beating for a moment. **No…** He had already known the answer to his question, but he realized now that he had never really believed it, hadn't accepted it. Lorelai, his Lorelai… had been violently raped._

_"Oh, Lorelai…" Luke let out the breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding, wanting nothing more than to hold her in his arms and comfort her but knowing that an intimate touch such as that would only put her in more pain than she was already in._

_And the he saw the tears rolling silently down her cheeks and watched mutely as she hesitantly leaned forward, letting go of his hand. He felt her arms go around his neck as she clung to him, and then, by some miracle, he was holding her in his arms, comforting her the way that he had wished that he could. "It's okay… Shh… You're safe…" he whispered softly in her ear, overcome by love and protectiveness for this strong, beautiful woman._

_When her tears had stopped and she had calmed down a bit, Lorelai slowly leaned a little away from Luke, not removing her arms from around his neck. "Hey, now I want to listen to me very closely," Luke said solemnly and Lorelai did as he said, for once not making a joking comment. "You mean everything to me. You are the most beautiful, intelligent, quick-witted, caring woman that I have **ever** met. You're safe now. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you. Never again, okay? I promise you that," he pledged and, looking into his eyes and seeing the seriousness there, Lorelai just nodded and gave a small smile before releasing Luke and laying back down on the bed as he returned to his chair, although he did slide it a bit closer to the bed._

_**Even if it kills me, that is one promise that I will NEVER break…**_

* * *

_Lorelai_

_About an hour had gone by since the twins had returned to find Lorelai, looking noticeably calmer as she rested on her bed, and Luke sitting in his chair, which was now only about a foot away from the bed. The two had smiled with genuine happiness at the sight before presenting the food that they had brought._

_Now, Lorelai, who had been thinking over her conversation with Luke and the way that – even though she still felt some fear and hesitation when she looked at him – he calmed her, made her feel **safe** again. And she knew what she had to do._

_"Rory," Lorelai said her daughter's name and Rory immediately looked up at her. "I need to do something for me," she said simply._

_Twenty minutes later, Lorelai heard a knock on the door and knew immediately who it was. She had sent the twins and Luke out of the room a few minutes earlier, knowing that she needed to do this by herself, but now that the time had come she found herself wishing that Luke was there with her, holding her, protecting her._

_"Come in," she called, forcing her voice to remain steady, and the door instantly opened to reveal him standing there._

_"Lorelai! Are you hurt? Are you okay? What happened?" Jason said, panicked, rushing into the room and attempting to embrace his girlfriend before stepping back, shocked, when she flinched away from him and shut her eyes. "Lorelai?" he questioned softly._

_Lorelai shook her head to calm herself before reopening her eyes and looking at Jason. "I'll be fine, Jason. That's not why I wanted you to come here. I think we need to talk," she said calmly._

_Jason felt fear enter his heart at her words and a thought, not altogether unwelcome, entered his mind. "Lorelai…" he began, glancing down at her and noting the way that her left hand rested lightly over her flat abdomen. "Are you pregnant?" he asked hesitantly, both hopeful and fearful of her answer._

_Lorelai's eyes widened slightly in shock and a slight flicker of annoyance. **Why does everyone always ask me that? You get pregnant at sixteen, and suddenly, every time you're hurt or not feeling well,** **you're pregnant,** she thought with minor annoyance, before calming down and noticing for herself the way her hand rested on her stomach and she could see how he would make that assumption._

_"No, Jason, I'm not pregnant. It's nothing like that, I promise," she reassured him and he nodded in acknowledgement of her words._

_"Then what did you want to talk about?" he asked, confused and somewhat worried about where this was heading._

_**Oh, boy…**_

_"Well…" she began before explaining to him, not unkindly, that she wanted to end their relationship and that it had nothing to do with him. They just weren't right for each other. At first, he protested but eventually, as her calmly-spoken words broke through to him, he just stood there for a moment before speaking._

_"You're sure?" he asked, resignation creeping into his voice._

_"I'm sure, Jason," she answered him softly._

_"Well, then… I guess this is it," he hesitated. "I – Would it be okay if I gave you a quick hug? I'll be gentle, I promise," he asked carefully. When Lorelai nodded, he gently leaned in and gave her a quick hug before pulling back to give her a small smile and walking to door. He turned back as he reached it. "I really do hope you feel better," he said sincerely, looking at her tenderly for the last time._

_**He really is such a good man… But I could never really love Jason, not the way I love ****him****…**_

_Lorelai smiled. "Thank you. Goodbye, Jason."_

_"Goodbye, Lorelai," he responded, before walking out the door and to his car, knowing that even though it hurt, even though he regretted that he hadn't been the guy for her after all, he wouldn't give up a minute of the time he spent with her for anything._

* * *

_Before long Rory, Winter, and Luke returned to room to find Lorelai alone, looking more peaceful and content since she had been admitted to the hospital. They knew that she still had a long way to go, but she was making progress and they were glad._

_"Hey," she greeted them with a small smile after only the slightest hesitation as she looked at Luke and he smiled in return._

_Lorelai was half sitting up on the edge of the right side of the bed, so the twins climbed in on the left side and she put her left arm around the two of them. "Are you okay?" they asked her concernedly._

_She gave them a squeeze and smiled a little. "I will be. It's gonna take some time and I'm not gonna be able to do it on my own, but I will be okay. And I will be here for you, but I'm gonna need you, too," Lorelai told them softly as they nodded, before looking to her right. "All three of you," she added quietly, and, even though she was still hurt and confused and upset, she was delighted when Luke reached out to take her hand._

_Once Lorelai nodded her permission, Luke took her hand in his and spoke, "You've got us. Whatever you need, we'll be there. **I'll** be there. You're a goddess. **My** goddess," he promised her, his eyes burning with sincerity, and she knew that he **would** be there. He was done waiting, done letting the chances pass him by, and despite all that had happened in the last few days, when she leaned in to kiss him softly on the cheek, she felt no hesitation or fear. She felt love, and the look that they shared after she pulled back was full of love and commitment and she knew that no matter what she would always have Luke there to back her up, to keep her strong, even when she was weak._

_The twins grinned at each other before looking at Luke and nodding their approval. And Lorelai knew that this was it. This was what she had been searching for – these three people who were with her through all of the good times and the bad, and who now stood by her as she went through this, the darkest period of her life._

_Lorelai had always felt like something was missing when she was growing up with Emily and Richard, but she had never been able to fully define what it was. Love? Comfort? But now she knew: it was **this**._

_It was home._

_**)( )( )( )( )( ****The End**** )( )( )( )( )(**_

_**A/N: To all of my wonderful readers and reviewers – yes, this is truly the end. I felt that I needed to end the story soon, or, more accurately, I felt that if I ****didn't**** end the story soon, that I never would. However, if I get at least 5 reviews requesting one, I do have a good idea for an epilogue to help wrap up the storylines a little more completely. I hope that you've enjoyed reading this story. :D Thanks to: AddisonBiitchCurlsx, Anja1983, BFD, Broadwayfreak5357, cm21, diana17gg, EsotericFemale, Gilmoregirls1197, Haley Elizabeth James, .pie.i, musiclovessoul, newyorkwriter, riri393, roganjalex, somename, Youliveandburn, and all of any of my unknown readers for your support and input! You guys rock! :P I hope you guys like the fic and I hope that you will check out the new story that I will be starting soon (maybe a cross between Parenthood and Gilmore Girls). **_

_**Sincerely, Lorelai Winter**_


	11. Epilogue

_Disclaimer: I still don't own them…_

_Broadwayfreak5357: If you go to /parenthood/ you can watch the finale for free! It was awesome, so you should check it out! :D_

_A/N: Well, here it is, as promised! :D_

_**Epilogue: Six Months Later**_

_At the encouragement of Luke, Rory, and Winter, after Lorelai was released from the hospital she went to the police and filed charges of assault and rape against one Christopher Hayden. He was quickly found and thrown in jail pending his trial, where he was found guilty of charges of assault and rape against one Lorelai Victoria Gilmore. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison and a $200,000 fine._

_Rory and Winter were there for their mom as she recovered, both physically and mentally, from Chris' attack. Rory and Dean ended up getting together a month after Lorelai was released from the hospital, while Winter chose to set her sights on taming her own new boyfriend, Tristan._

_Lorelai and Luke began dating as soon as Lorelai was fully recovered physically, although they rarely spent a moment apart even before that. The entire town went crazy (well, crazier than usual) at the news of Lorelai and Luke getting together. Lorelai was, for the first time in her life, truly in love. She never felt the need to run or question Luke; she wasn't just content, she was genuinely happy with Luke and her twin daughters by her side. Luke had loved Lorelai since the day that she walked into his life, caffeine-obsession and all, which is how, on this cold December night they came to be standing on the bridge that went over the lake, bathed in the light of the full moon…_

_"So are you gonna tell me what we're doing out here?" Lorelai laughed at her boyfriend of the past six months._

_Luke just smiled at her in response. He had always thought that he would be nervous when this day came, but he was completely calm. This was the woman he loved, the woman he wanted to wake up next to every day of the rest of his life. "Lorelai, I love you, and I want to be with you. I am all in. I'm not going anywhere. I will always be there for you. Now…" he said, looking at Lorelai, love and certainty evident in both his eyes and voice, and he got down on one knee and pulled out the black velvet box and opened it to reveal the most beautiful ring that Lorelai had ever seen. "Will you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?"_

_Lorelai was silent at first. Tears of joy had been running slowly down her cheeks as her eyes sparkled, reflecting the light of a thousand stars within their beautiful lavender-blue depths. After a moment, she countered with a question of her own, pulling Luke back to his feet. "Luke, I have never loved any man but you. You are the only man that I ever have or ever could possibly love. Now, will you do **me** the extraordinary honor of allowing me to marry you?" she said with a soft smile, which was the same smile which Luke wore, and that was all the answer that either of them needed as they slipped the ring onto Lorelai's ring finger, where it would stay for the rest of their lives. And as they kissed, the first snowfall of the season floated down on them peacefully, a sign of all the good that was to come._

* * *

_The wedding was perfect. Rory and Winter were the bridesmaids, dressed in beautiful ice-blue dresses, and Dean and Tristan were the groomsmen. Sookie looked beautiful as Lorelai's maid of honor and Jackson was coaxed into a suit so that he could be Luke's best man. For once, Luke didn't complain about having to wear a tuxedo. It was his wedding to Lorelai, and that made it more than worth it. Lorelai wore a beautiful cream colored dress and as they said "I Do" the entire town applauded and it snowed once more. It was pure, blissful perfection that day, January the 23rd as Lorelai and Luke Gilmore (yes, he took her name and became the very first Gilmore Boy) finally wed._

* * *

_1 Year Later, Luke and Lorelai's First Anniversary, 11:59 on January 23, 2002_

_"Hey, Luke," Lorelai said softly as they lay in their bed after celebrating their anniversary earlier that day._

_"Hmm?" Luke asked, looking up into Lorelai's eyes which still stunned him after all this time, and continuing to trace small circles on her hand that he held between both of his._

_"I have one more anniversary present for you," she said, smiling happily at him and taking one of his hands. "It's gonna take a while to get here, though."_

_"What do you mean? What is it?" he asked, confused._

_"Luke," she began, leaning down and kissing him softly before pulling back just enough to see his face. "You're gonna be a daddy," she whispered, taking his hand and placing it on her still-flat stomach._

_Luke's eyes widened. "You're pregnant?" he asked, happily shocked. Her grin was all the answer that he needed before he pulled back down, kissing her fiercely before stopping to pull back and grin at her smugly._

_"What?" Lorelai asked suspiciously, eyeing her husband._

_"I finally have the perfect excuse to make you eat healthy, and…" he began triumphantly, his eyes shining with glee._

_"And, what? I don't under… No. No way, Luke. Luke!" she complained, panicked, as she realized what he was saying. He couldn't. He wouldn't, would he? The answer was clear on his face: he would._

_"You're not coming within a foot of a cup of coffee while you're pregnant," he said, overjoyed at the thought of finally accomplishing the goal that he had been working towards for so long._

_Ten minutes later, after begging, pleading, and threatening had all gotten her nowhere, Lorelai sighed in resignation. "You better be glad I love you," she said sternly, as he laughed, before giving up and smiling before laying her head on his shoulder as the two drifted into sleep, Luke's arm resting lightly over her abdomen and the unborn child that lay within. **Their** unborn child. And all was right with the world._

_**)( )( )( )( )( The End, Again )( )( )( )( )(**_

_**A/N: I know, it was pretty sappy, but every story needs just a little bit of sap! :D Hope you liked it! Once more, thanks to all my readers and reviewers – you guys are awesome!**_

_**- Lorelai Winter**_


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